Shadowbox
by koji07
Summary: AU Shikamaru Nara a young man who gave up on boxing after the death of his trainer in the ring, returns to the ring and begins a slow climb through the ranks of boxing in order to exact revenge on the man who killed his coach and to support the child and widow he left behind. All while dealing with a beautiful woman and the shady underworld that has found its place in the sport.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Naruto.**

CHAPTER ONE: Stadium Seating

The sounds kept him up at night. This was a problem. For a man who valued sleep more than anything. Being kept awake by the sounds that had been the soundtrack to his youth was a haunting curse. Every time he closed his eyes he'd hear it. Steady and crisp. The sound of gloved fists striking bags suspended from a roof. The sounds of bells ringing to relieve one from hell. Only to return them a short while later. The sounds of crowds cheering for more blood. And if he listened close enough. He could still hear the sound of sweat hitting the floor. The music of boxing had been keeping him up for the last two years.

For the Nineteen years Shikamaru Nara had existed he had learned to be certain of a few things. He knew that sleep was the answer to problems that could not be solved. Women were the most difficult thing one could encounter. And that hard work only led to more responsibility. Boredom fit him well. Apathy looked good on him, depression, not so much. All the seasons had come and gone twice since the last time he had slept well. The sounds only got louder and louder with time.

This morning was like most. Shikamaru slams the snooze button on his alarm for the fourth time. It quits it's blaring for another five minutes. By the ninth time he has hit the snooze button he finally decides to shut it off.

Shikamaru takes baths. At a young age he decide it was too troublesome to stay standing while cleaning himself if he got the same results while lying down. After getting dressed he heads downstairs. Stepping quietly on the steps in hopes to not alert his presence, also like most mornings the stair gods do not want to show him any mercy. They screech louder with each descending step.

He waited for his mothers yell telling him to get to his housework. Living with his parents still embarrassed him, but the last two years had drained him of any hope of a normal life. There was one thing that was off about this morning. His mothers yell did come but it was different than any other day.

"Shikamaru! Get down here now! You have a visitor!" his mother yells. His eyebrows perk up with curiosity as to who is waiting for him downstairs. He follows the direction of his mother's voice to the kitchen.

"You've gotten fat Shikamaru," a familiar voice says through a mouthful of food. "Almost as big as me." a huge man sitting at his table stuffs his mouth full of food. "Chouji? What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asks. A few moments pass before Chouji speaks again "Get dressed, we're going somewhere." Shikamaru's mother shoots him a glare telling him to do as his friend says.

Half an hour later Chouji leads Shikamaru through city streets. After a few moments Shikamaru pieced together where they were heading. How could he forget the familiar paths?

Konoha Stadium.

He hadn't been here since that night.

"I can see you've figured it out." Chouji says through the side of his mouth. "Don't be angry at me. Your parents are making me do this; we both know this has to happen." Shikamaru crosses his arms in defeat. He knew there was no point in arguing. "Who's fighting tonight?" Chouji doesn't answer.

He had forgotten how uncomfortable stadium seats were. He glared down at the ring. It had been so long since he had laid eyes on one. He has so much hatred for a square of canvas and some ropes.

Music started playing. A fit man with dark brown hair enters the stadium. He makes his slow walk towards the ring. Shikamaru can tell by the way he moves he is the challenger. There is no confidence in his step. Shikamaru knows this man is here to lose. And to collect a massive check for doing so. The announcer speaks up. "Now entering the ring. Weighing in at One Hundred Twenty Four pounds. With a record of twelve wins. Zero loses. And One Draw. Shino "Black Widow" Aburame!" a roar emanates from the crowd. Shino pumps his fist in appreciation. Popping his mouth guard in to place." the crowd soon quiets down.

Suddenly an even louder cheer explodes from the stands. It takes Shikamaru a few moments to notice the champion has entered. And to no intro music. He is mid thought wondering who the current champion is when cameras zoom in on his face and he can see his identity clearly on the screens. "Now entering the ring. Weighing in at One Hundred Twenty Five pounds. With a record of twenty two wins. Zero loses. And Zero draws. The Featherweight Champion of Japan. Defending his title for the ninth time. Hidan!"The crowd goes wild. Shikamaru's shoulders tense up. Chouji sees his reaction and quickly clamps a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

The round begins.

Hidan shows no mercy. He gives the crowd the bloodbath they've been waiting for. By the end of the first round. They are carrying Shino out on a stretcher. Hidan smirks in to a camera. The same smirk he had that night two years ago. Shikamaru glares in a rage.

A beautiful woman enters the ring along with Hidan's managers and trainers. She wraps her tanned arms around his neck. The cameras surround them as they share a deep kiss and smile at each other. Shikamaru shudders at the thought of a woman actually willing to touch that monster let alone kiss him.

By the time Hidan leaves the ring and by the time all the memories this place keeps haunt him Shikamaru is in tears.

"Chouji why did you bring me here?" he asks quietly.

"There's someone you need to meet."

Shikamaru lights a cigarette in remembrance. His mind thinking back to that night. He wanted to cry. Right there on that sidewalk. He missed him so much.

Asuma had taught him everything. Shikamaru's father Shikaku was always gone he was a top tier boxer at that time. Asuma was there, he taught Shikamaru everything: stance, guard, jabs, straights, hooks, uppercuts, crosses, and counters. It took five years, but Asuma worked hard and turned Shikamaru from a scrawny boy in to a boxer. He also trained Chouji. Everything Asuma had to offer he put in to them in his free time when he wasn't boxing. He was slowly making his way up in the boxing world. And he had a title shot finally, there was one fight left before he could go for the Japanese featherweight title. They said it was a stepping stone fight. One he would easily win. Fate played a cruel game that night. It was Asuma's last time in the ring. In the eighth round Hidan hit after the bell rang. With his arms dropped Asuma took the blow straight with no chance of guarding, Asuma went down. And he never got back up. The crushing blow left him brain dead. Two days later they terminated life support. Shikamaru hung up his gloves that day.

The sound of footsteps snapped him out of his trance. "Sorry I'm late." a feminine voice spoke. When Shikamaru finally noticed her he was at a loss for words. A tall woman with dark curling waterfalls for hair and blood colored eyes stood before him. Bouncing a baby in her arms.

"Kurenai!" he exclaims. She smiles at him. Steps close to him and wraps an arm around him. Shikamaru felt strange. An angled hug between his late teacher's wife and a baby.

After she pulls away Kurenai faces the baby toward him. "Shikamaru, I'd like to introduce you to Asuma's son. After all he's named after you." The words she spoke rang in his head before he could comprehend them.

This was Asuma's son. This was his legacy. Shikamaru did the math. Asuma was killed before he was born. This child would grow up without a father because of Hidan.

Something in Shikamaru snapped at that moment. It all was made clear to him.

He faced his large friend and spoke.

"I'll see you at the gym tomorrow."

Chouji smiled as his friend walked away. He was glad the plan worked. It was good to see his best friend alive for the first time in the last two years. He hoped he would be able to stay like this.


	2. Chapter 2

******I do not own Naruto.**

CHAPTER 2: Cloud Gazer 

Alarms were the bane of his existence. They signaled the end of his rest and beginning of his work. Shikamaru slams the off button before sitting up to wipe the sleep off his face.  
The last three months felt like a constant déjà-vu. Retracing the steps Asuma had shown him with his father and Chouji every day. Three months of roadwork. Three months of workouts. Three months of jabbing sandbags. Three months of sparring. He felt it coming back to him. His punches became faster and harder. His muscles remembered every strike. He was becoming the boxer he once was. He was home. His gloves now secured tightly on his fists. Waiting for the sweet contact they craved so much.

He still treated every day as a problem. Complaining whenever he could get the chance, which was often. Chouji and Shikaku would push him to work harder. As much as Shikamaru told himself he hated it. He was finding himself liking the training. There was comfort in routine.

As he entered the Sarutobi Gym after his normal roadwork he noticed Chouji waiting for him.

"Oiii! Shikamaru come here!" the large man beckoned for him to join him. "Chouji, what's going on?" he asked half heartedly.

Chouji smiled and opened his arms wide. "Guess who got you a fight?" Shikamaru stared in disbelief. He wasn't ready to fight. He wasn't anywhere close to being ready. What was Chouji thinking?

"Hey, don't look so bothered. I got a title shot for the Heavyweight belt. And one of the Featherweight fighters dropped in the opening fights, so I threw your name in and they accepted."

Shikamaru was having trouble processing it all. He had just gotten his pro license when Asuma died. He had never even fought in a pro ring before he hung up his gloves. This was a first for him.

"Why are they letting me fight though? Aren't there more experienced  
boxers?" he asked. "Yes, there are more experienced, but Asuma's name still holds a lot  
of weight. I told them you were his prodigy. They're expecting you to deliver." Shikamaru started to protest before he was cut short.

"You made the choice to fight to feed his child, this is the first step. It's time for your debut."

Shikamaru shook his head in defeat. "Alright then... Who am I fighting?"

Shikamaru stared at his name on the flyer. It was the lowest of all the names. He was the opening card. Chouji's name looked huge compared to his. Shikamaru glanced at the name next to his. Rock Lee. The young man he had been training to fight for the last month.

He could hardly believe it was happening. The last time he had been in the locker rooms of Konoha stadium was the night Asuma died. Now he was sitting in the spot he sat. Wearing the gloves, just like Asuma had.

Before he knows it an official is telling him it is time to go. His father nods at him and they begin their walk in to the ring.

He hears the cheering of the crowd as he appears in the spotlight. He can't believe he's doing this. It's so strange to be here. He didn't want to admit it, but he was nervous.

"Now entering the ring. Weighing in at One hundred twenty five pounds. In his debut professional match. With zero wins. Zero loses. And zero draws. Shikamaru Nara!" the crowd cheers. He gazes up at the stadium lights. Wishing they were clouds.

"Now entering the ring. Weighing in at One hundred twenty five and a half pounds. With a professional record of one win, one loss. And zero draws. Rock Lee!" the crowd cheers harder for him.

Before he knows it he's facing his opponent. He gives him a glare over. His body is more defined than Shikamaru's. There is a fire in his eyes. His large eyebrows flexed in focus.

Ding!  
The bell rings signaling the fight.

Shikamaru's hands rise to his. They tap and begin to circle. Shikamaru analyzes his situation. Should he set the pace with a few jabs? Or wait to see how Lee will react?

Before he can finish thinking a huge left hook connects. Knocking the analyzation out of him. He was powerful. His punches carried more force than Shikamaru's.

Shikamaru's adrenaline kicks in. He tests the waters with a jab. Feeling out his rhythm. He's almost got it. And then it clicks. Simple and clean. Over and Over. Left Jab. Right straight. Over and over.

Shikamaru counts the blows. Then it hits him. A devastating Left jab that makes his arms drop mid punch. It's followed through. Lee swings a heavy arc. His right hook crashes in to Shikamaru's chin. He can feel his knees wobble.

Suddenly his wish has come true. He's on his back. Staring at the lights, but the lights aren't lights anymore. He's Cloud gazing. Everything is ringing. Far away he can hear a count. And then it makes sense. He scrambles to his feet.

The ref checks his gloves. Shikamaru assumes a fighting stance. Lee is bouncing now. Right when the referee allows it. He will rush in to finish the job. Before he can though. A bell rings. Signaling the end of the first round.

In his corner Shikamaru gasps for air. He wonders why he even did this. It wasn't like him at all. He was lazy, unmotivated, and apathetic. Why was he putting all this effort in just to be beaten to a pulp?

And then it hit him. What Asuma had tried to teach him? The Will of Fire. The will to fight. It all clicked. Shikamaru assumed the hand position he always did when he needed to think. His gloves seemed to fuse perfectly in to the position he closed his eyes and began to think.

Lee is an inside boxer. With strong hooks. He's not quick on his feet, but he has a firm stance. It would be impossible to knock him down with the strength of my normal punches right now, but I can't out box him without taking some potential knock out hits.

And then it came to him, he recalls an old lesson Asuma taught him. Inside boxers hit hard and take a lot of hits, but they often drop guards in order to pull off deadly combinations.

The bell rings. Shikamaru takes the steps towards his opponent. His plans now clear in his mind.

It begins.

Rock Lee dashes in with a left jab. Shikamaru plays his card. Let's the jab bounce off his cheek. Lee seizes the opportunity and goes for a huge right hook. Exactly the way Shikamaru had played it in his head. He times it perfect. Ducks at the moment before it strikes.  
Weaves under it. Lee swings too wide leaving his side exposed.

Time seems to slow. Shikamaru leans low. He can feel all those years of training in his hips. He pulls his left fist tight. And lets it take off.

Smack!

A thud is heard and the crowd goes silent, Shikamaru stands over Rock Lee who is on his hands and knees. Eyes bulging, legs shaking, his mouth guard has fallen from his mouth and now lies on the canvas. The ref begins counting. The crowd goes wild.

Shikamaru returns to his corner. Knowing Lee will not be able to stand. He can hear Asuma's voice in his head.

"The Liver Blow will shut down any boxer if you do it right."


	3. Chapter 3

******I do not own Naruto.**

CHAPTER 3: NAME GAMES

A week later talk of the Sarutobi gym's boxers still hadn't quieted down, mostly due to Chouji's victory, making him the current heavy weight champion of Japan. A few of the reporters even tried to ask Shikamaru about his win over Lee, but he avoided their questions by excusing himself to go train.

Shikamaru was jabbing the punching bag when he heard his name being called. He followed the voice to the office of the gym. His eyes opened in shock at what he saw. A familiar curvaceous woman sitting in one of the chairs the office had.

"I take it you know who I am?" she spoke. Shikamaru nodded his head and regained his cool. "Yes, you're Tsunade the chairman of the Japanese boxing federation." the woman nodded in confirmation.

"I'm here to talk business with your father, but I need a favor from you." Shikamaru raised his eyebrow questioningly. "Can you take my associate here to get something to eat?" Tsunade motioned to another person in the room.

In the corner behind Shikamaru a young woman stood arms crossed. In his shock of Tsunade speaking to him he had not even noticed her. He looked her up and down. Feet planted firmly, Muscular legs that curved in to full hips, a toned body, he gaze finally worked its way up to a frightening pair of teal eyes and dark blonde hair pulled in to four ponytails. The young woman's glare was annoyed. He realized it was because he had looked her over like he was sizing her up silently. Tsunade's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Temari here has been waiting patiently to go eat, but I think I'll be here a while longer, hurry up and take her somewhere." Shikamaru nodded nervously and gestured for the young woman to follow. She uncrosses her arms and lets out an angry breath before following.

~~~~  
Shikamaru was not enjoying himself. Temari's body language screamed out irritation. She fell in step with him. "Where are you taking me?" her voice was raspy, powerful. He contemplated ignoring her as long as possible, and then Shikamaru realized something. He was in workout clothes still. Meaning he didn't have his wallet with him.

"Troublesome..." he mutters. Temari crosses her arm "What do you mean?" asks. He puts his hands behind his head "Oh well, guess it can't be helped. We have to go there. Come on, this way." He speeds up a step and she follows curiously.

~~~~  
A familiar bell chimes as they enter the restaurant. The chef greets them from the kitchen. A waiter shows them to their table. Soon a large plate of barbeque is placed before them.

"How are you going to pay for this?" she asks. He finishes his bite "Chouji has a tab here, I'll just put it on there." she picks up one of the well cooked sticks of meat and waves it as she speaks. "Chouji is the heavyweight champ right?" Shikamaru nods. "Are you a boxing fan?" he asks. She nods her head "I was born in to a boxing family; my brothers are Gaara and Kankuro." Shikamaru raises an eyebrow in surprise.

Gaara and Kankuro were two very well know boxers, Kankuro was once the middle weight champ and Gaara had been a featherweight champ before retiring to join Tsunade as one of the heads of the boxing committee.

"So I take it you want to be a champion boxer then?" she asked with a smile. Shikamaru shook his head "No, not at all. I just want to box because it's the only skill I have. Use it to make some money so I can eat. Marry someone, have some kids, get old and them die." Temari looked stunned at his honesty. She regained her composure and smiled "Keeping those aspirations high I see." Shikamaru had been lost in her smile. It was a sight. Her whole face lit up with that grin. Something about her felt oddly familiar. Where had he seen her before?

The chef came out at that moment to great them. Shikamaru had known him for years now seeing as how Asuma would take him and Chouji here to eat once a week, over the years they had become the most regular customers.

"Shikamaru," the chef called. "Great job winning your debut. That liver shot was amazing!" Shikamaru raised a hand in appreciation "Thank you." the chef nodded and returned to the kitchen looking over his shoulder he called out "Asuma would be so proud of you."

The mention of his name brought Shikamaru in to a trance. He hadn't thought about what his coach would've said about his match against Lee and now his voice was ringing in his head.

"Who's Asuma?" Temari's voice snaps him out of it. Shikamaru clears a lump that is caught in his throat, he replies after a sip of water. "Asuma was my trainer, he taught me how to box. He takes another bite as she speaks "Was he there at the gym today?" the words stung a little in Shikamaru's throat. It was strange having to find the words to explain his late teacher. He had never had to explain it to someone who was not aware of it before, usually people would just offer him their condolences, Asuma had always praised Shikamaru for being a genius inside and outside the ring, but at the moment he was drawing a blank stupidly.

"He.. Wasn't there today.." Shikamaru stutters, "He died.. a while back." Temari looks up from her meal. Her teal eyes opening wider, Shikamaru was used to this part. This is where they would usually tell him how sorry they were for his loss. He prepared to give her the usual reply he always gave when this happened.

Instead her voice became serious, "How?" she asks. Shikamaru's eyebrow raises questioningly, "How what?" his question seems to irritate Temari, she raises one palm up. "How did he die dumbass!?" He is thrown off guard at her outburst, he notes her short fuse for future reference. "Oh.. well he was a boxer too, and he died in the ring."

Temari stares quietly after he finishes. Eventually she breaks eye contact and looks downward. "What was his name?" she asks. "You're the one who asked who he was, It was Asuma." She shakes her head. "No… What was the name of the man that killed him?"

Shikamaru took a moment before he spoke "Hidan."

Temari gasps, only for a moment, but Shikamaru can hear it. Suddenly he remembers why she seems so familiar, Slowly he pieces it together, and as he does. His anger rises.


	4. Chapter 4

**So yeah, It's pretty radical that anyone is even reading this. I'm thankful that you all are. This is the first thing I've ever really written on here. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. I'll try to update often. And I try to make everything as accurate as possible. I'm a boxer. So all the stuff I write is just kind of personal experience from sparring, training and stuff like that. I hope you guys are in to it. Reviews would be nice. That way I could see what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. I'll stop wasting everyone's time now and you guys can get to reading.**

I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 4: The Road to Roadwork. **

Shikamaru was a calm man. He was always relaxed and kept a cool head. It'd had become difficult for him to remember the last time he had felt rage. He assumed it was back around the time that Asuma was killed. The emotion he was feeling at the moment was unfamiliar, but putting the lessons his mother had beat in to him at a young age, he practiced his self control to its maximum capacity. After realizing where he had seen Temari he quickly told her to finish eating and to meet him out front to return to the gym.

Before Temari had a chance to raise her voice he was in front of the restaurant balling his fist in an attempt to keep control. He kept his control all the way back to the gym with Temari yelling for an explanation as to why he abruptly left.

~~~~

Shikamaru bursts through the doors of the gym and storms in to his father's office followed by Temari where Tsunade and his dad are signing papers. Chouji is sitting in a chair off to the side munching on a bag of chips. Once he enters the room his control dissipates and he unleashes the rage he's been holding on to since the restaurant.

"Which one of you knew!?" he yells glancing between his father and Chouji. They both look at each other in wake of Shikamaru's sudden outburst. Tsunade also stares unaware as to what is happening.

"Um…. Shikamaru.. What are you talking about man?" Chouji asks after clearing his throat. Temari had taken notice of what a bad situation she was in, and slowly sank back towards the door. The moment she did so, Shikamaru pivots towards her and points.

"Her!" he shouts, "Why'd you even let her in here?" Everyone in the room stares towards Temari, she crosses her arms in irritation. Shikaku finally breaks the silence that has fallen after Shikamaru's burst of anger.

"Well son.. Not that it's any of your business, but she's the representative from the Sabaku Boxing Gym and as of next week she'll be managing Chouji. So I suggest you stop being such a rude little prick and show her some proper manners." Shikamaru glared back at his father. "No, find someone else, anyone else but her."

This was the first time Chouji had seen his new manager in person, and suddenly he realized why Shikamaru was so mad, it all started to make sense, he had seen her before. He knew who she was.

Chouji spoke up interrupting the shouting match that was going on between Shikaku and Shikamaru. "She's Hidan's…" he says a bit loudly, surprising even himself, he lets his voice trail off. The room quieted down. Shikaku and Shikamaru stopped yelling. And everyone turned to Temari. Shikaku was speechless, glancing between his son and the young woman before him.

Temari was extremely uncomfortable. She should have seen this coming on the walk to the gym. She just wasn't sure if he knew that she was with the man who killed his mentor, but now with all of their eyes on her she is certain everyone is aware now. Words escape her.

Shikaku puts an arm on his son's shoulder, "I know you're upset, but the papers are signed. We need her here to help out Chouji. Don't you want to see him keep his belt? There are going to be challengers and sponsors, and I want to have someone in our corner who knows what to do when the time comes, she managed both her brothers and look how far they've gone. Don't you want the same for Chouji?"

Shikamaru look towards Chouji who immediately breaks eye contact when their gazes meet. Shikamaru steps towards him and lowers his voice "Chouji… We don't need her. We'll find someone better…" Chouji swallowed hard. "There is no one better Shikamaru, I don't like it either, but it needs to be done. I can't budge on this one just because you can't handle it."

The fire that had been deep in Shikamaru's gut slowly shrunk, pure anger and rage was slowly replaced by betrayal and hurt. After recomposing himself he strolled towards the door. The others in the room could faintly hear the word troublesome muttered before the doors slams signaling his exit.

Straight from the gym doors he started running. Shikamaru despised roadwork, the constant smack of his shoes on the concrete, the heavy breathing. All of it added up to hard work which Shikamaru had no desire to participate in. Today however was a different story, with each step he felt a little bit of his rage from the day's events be left behind in the his footsteps.

Roadwork was an important part of any boxer's success. Marathons were for runners, Roadwork was for a boxer. Added to his normal running routine were the exercises that Asuma and his father had burned in to his memory: jogging followed by full out sprints sustained for certain amounts of time, just to return to the jogging pace he had already set, shuffling side to side as he ran, jogging and sprinting backwards while looking over his shoulder. All of it was Shikamaru's worst nightmare, but today of all days he found it incredibly therapeutic.

When he finally returned to the gym the sun had set, sweat covered his body, and he felt at peace. The last of his rage disappearing as he finishes wrapping his hands and strapping gloves on. His punches feel crisper than ever before he hits the bags with sharp noises whistling throughout the gym. One: Left Jab. Two: Left jab, Right Straight. Three: Left Jab, Right Straight, Left Hook. Four: Left Jab, Right Straight, Left Hook, Right Straight. Over and over he counts the rhythm: one, two, three, four, and eventually his breath counts for him. Time flies and before he knows it his arms fall limp against his body. The ecstasy that exhaustion can bring takes over. He feels good. He feels refreshed. He feels ready.

"You're looking better; you'll be ready to start training for your next fight soon." The voice startles him. Shikamaru wonders why he isn't used to his father sneaking up on him by now. "As if I could get another fight, only reason I got that fight was because of all the strings Chouji pulled." He replies to his father as he wipes his brow with a towel.

Shikaku looks his son over for a second, surprised by how grown he has become. He regrets missing out on watching him grow up. He had been a popular Welterweight in his youth and the boxer life took all of his time. He missed Shikamaru's birth for a title shot, missed his first steps and words. By the time Shikaku had retired and had time for Shikamaru his son had already found his way in to the Sarutobi gym and wasn't looking for any bonding time. In more ways than one Asuma had raised Shikamaru more so than Shikaku ever had. Shikaku shakes his head wishing he could make up for lost time.

"Hey before you leave we need to talk about Temari…." He says to his son in a serious voice. Shikamaru speaks up before he can finish. "Don't worry about it; I don't have to like it. I actually hate it, but I won't ruin this for Chouji. It's troublesome, but I'll try not to start any problems with her. Even if she is the worst." Shikaku is surprised by his sons maturity. It's a strange moment for a father when he has to realize that he no longer has a boy, but now has a man for a son. He speaks to thank him, but his son turns and walks away waving his father's words off as he leaves.


	5. Chapter 5

**It's great you guys are reading this, I really appreciate all your feedback. I'll be posting a couple more chapters tonight. And I'll try to get the momentum of the story started to bring in more action. Thanbks for reading again. Any reviews are welcome so I can see what I'm getting right and what I'm getting wrong.**

I do not own Naruto

**Chapter 5: Promises**

Spring had come and gone and Shikamaru could feel himself falling in to a regular routine. His father still scolded him for sleeping in hours past when he was supposed to be up for training, but the lectures would go in one ear and out the other. Regardless of when he woke up Shikamaru forced himself to get his roadwork done and at least get a few hours of gym time in.

The whirlwind of Temari's arrival to the gym had finally disappeared. After the dust from his outburst had settled an unspoken agreement had come between the two. Whenever Temari entered the gym to speak with Chouji or Shikaku, Shikamaru would immediately begin his roadwork. Even if he found it to be a bother to do his roadwork at a moment's notice, he would much rather run three miles than deal with the woman who he felt was defiling the gym with just her presence.

He had been working the punching mitts with his father when Chouji called out to him. From the gym doors asking for a moment of his time outside.

Shikamaru lights a cigarette as he strolls the streets outside of the gym with Chouji. "You really need to quit those things." Chouji commented after Shikamaru let out a breath of smoke. "Why? Asuma and my old man smoked while they boxed and they turned out fine." Chouji laughed "Yeah, but you're nowhere near their level." Shikamaru shrugged off his friends joking tone.

"Seriously though, there is something I need to talk to you about." Shikamaru glances at his friends face. "It's about Kurenai…" Shikamaru hesitated before speaking, worried about what his friend may say next. "What about her?" Chouji stops walking and turns towards him. "She needs money, a lot of it." It took Shikamaru a moment to process what his friend had said. "Why? Asuma sold out seats when he boxed. I'm sure there's lots of money left over from his fights." Chouji shook his head. "There was a lot of money left over, but it's been slowly used up just to keep the gym open. She's in debt Shikamaru. There's no way she can pay it off on her salary, I've tried to give her money from my fights, but she won't take it. No matter how much I try she won't budge."

Shikamaru was upset. How could it have come to this? A small part of him blamed his father. Shikaku had not finished off his career in glory. By the time he had retired it was after a continuous losing streak. He was past his prime, and one of the few boxers to be in the ring at his age. After he retired people talked. Shikamaru assumed the words got to his father. Shikaku had always been a man fond of liquor, but after his loses and retirement it got worse. For 3 years he drank away the money he had made, gambled away most of it. There was few left after Shikaku's last fights failed to bring in the purses his family's lavish lifestyle required. Shikamaru was sixteen when they were forced to leave their massive home and settled for a small townhouse. With just enough money left to live life comfortably. At this time his already strained relationship with his father made Shikamaru have a bitter taste for the sport. He didn't want to become the boxer his father was. A year later when Asuma died Shikamaru felt there was nothing left in his home. He gave up boxing, a thought that had been in the back of his mind since he saw what his father had become. He began working odd jobs and moved out on his eighteenth birthday.

After Asuma's death the gym fell in to the hands of Shikaku and there was not enough money in the Nara family's bank accounts to pay for the gym. So the prize money Asuma had saved up had been keeping the gym alive for the years since his death. Shikamaru tried not to feel ill towards his father, but if Shikaku had been wiser with his money he would have been able to afford the gym and thus keep Kurenai out of the debt that had fallen towards her.

Shikamaru suddenly understood what he had to do, he had promised Asuma he would take care of Kurenai once, and he planned to stand by that promise. "I need to get a fight Chouji." The larger man nodded at Shikamaru's statement. "I don't have any more strings to pull though; it will be hard to find you a fight." Shikamaru knew this was true. He had not received a purse from his fight with Rock Lee. Chouji explained that the promoting companies would only let Shikamaru box if they were to receive his fee. No one was interested in seeing a unknown boxer as an undercard for the Heavyweight title, but after asking for all the favors he could get Chouji got them to except on the condition that they were allowed to take his payment if he won or lost.

Shikamaru contemplated ways to get himself in to the ring. Chouji spoke before he could finish thinking. "There is one way for you to get a fight, but it might require you to get your hands dirty." Shikamaru gulped at the words. He knew how dangerous that sentence could mean. There were so many ways to interpret it. Silence grew between them. Shikamaru stares in to the gutter of the sidewalk they are standing on. He decides he must do what it takes, after all a promise is a promise.

"How dirty do my hands have to get?" he asks.


	6. Chapter 6

**So this chapter took me a really long time to write, but it is by far my favorite. I hope you guys like it and I would love some feedback.**

I do not own Naruto.

**Chapter 6: Heavybags**

A week later Shikamaru sits in a black car. It is a car that has high aspirations. Shikamaru smiled when he first saw it, no matter how many racing stickers it carried on its sides and rear it was obvious that the vehicle was rubbish. Currently the smile that he wore when he had first seen the car was nowhere to be found, mostly due to the large slobbering dog that insisted on shoving its face in to Shikamaru's personal bubble. The car was already small enough with the two young men sitting in it, and now that a large hound was added to the equation it was incredibly uncomfortable to stay seated.

Shikamaru also was upset at himself. He knew it was necessary for him to do this if he wanted to get a fight. A while after their talk in front of the gym, Chouji had handed Shikamaru a piece of paper with a cell phone number and told him which day to call. When he did the driver of the car he was currently in asked where to pick him up.

The third thing that was putting Shikamaru in a bad mood was the driver himself. Shortly after entering the car the young man introduced himself as Kiba, and then proceeded to introduce the dog Akamaru as if it were a person. Shikamaru liked calm and quiet. Kiba was the opposite of calm and quiet. He spoke fast and loud. He would ask questions only to start talking again before Shikamaru could answer. So far without asking Shikamaru had learned that Kiba was also a boxer. He was Twenty One. He enjoyed drinking and racing. The one piece of information Shikamaru actually listened to was when Kiba had briefly mentioned that this wasn't his first time doing what they were about to do. Shikamaru attempted to ask him what they would be doing, but never got the chance, because Kiba began talking again.

Eventually they pulled up to a furniture store. Kiba stopped talking for a moment, when he spoke again his tone was serious and heavy. "We're here. Come on let's go." He slammed the car door with Akamaru following him out. Shikamaru quickly exited and jogged to catch up. He wanted to ask why they were here, but he could tell by Kiba's walking pace that now was not the time for questions.

The store was filled with expensive furniture. Shikamaru followed Kiba to the register area where two pudgy men with glasses and balding hair stood counting money at a cash register. It was obvious to Shikamaru that the two men were twins. They looked up as Kiba and Shikamaru approached. Kiba spoke up. "Slither sent us. I'm going to need you two to come with me." The two men shared worried glances at each other. Nervously one spoke up. 'We don't want to go with you, you should leave now." His voice wavered as he spoke. Kiba shook his head at their words.

After a moment Kiba exhales and approaches one of the shelves that are carrying large ornate vases. He picks one up and inspects it thoroughly. He turns to the two men at the counter. "Hey this is really nice, how much does it cost?" Mid sentence Kiba drops it to the floor shattering it on contact. Kiba fakes surprise. "Oh wow! Sorry I'm clumsy. It was an accident," the two men glance at each other again as Kiba continues to speak. "By the looks of it, a lot more accident could happen in a store like this." After hearing Kiba's obvious threat the two men nod slowly at each other and the one who spoke before opens his mouth again. "Alright, we'll go. Just don't break anything else." Kiba nods and beckons them to follow, but he breaks three more vases as he walks out just for show.

Shikamaru worries as Kiba drives them through some very shady alleys a few minutes later. The two men in the back share worried whispers to each other. Shikamaru isn't sure what will happen yet or why they are doing this to the two men, but the thought of a fight to help pay off Kurenai's debts pushes out his worries from his mind temporarily.

Eventually Kiba pulls up to an unmarked door. He gets out first with Akamaru and the rest of the men following. The two twins stand close together as Kiba opens the door to a staircase leading down in to a dark room. The two men stood their ground and refused to enter. Kiba snaps his fingers and Akamaru gets low and snarls. The two men begin to quiver at the beast in front of them. "Either go in, or get bit. You decide." The two men quickly make their way down the stairs. Shikamaru follows cautiously.

The stairs led to a small room lit by flickering lights. The concrete floor had strange dark stains everywhere. From the ceiling a low pipe ran horizontally across the room. Shikamaru noticed two small metal loops on the ground a few feet away from each other. Shikamaru's attention snapped towards the noise of Kiba unzipping a duffel bag. "Put these on." He says as he tosses Shikamaru two rolls of white material. Shikamaru was familiar with the item, boxing wraps. The length of cloth or other fabrics used to wrap around the wrist, pad the knuckles, and weave through the fingers, necessary for any boxer to wear before putting on gloves or punching anything to decrease the risk of breaking a hand, wrist, or finger. He began to ask why he was putting them on, but Kiba just retold him to wrap his hands.

Shikamaru began the ritual of wrapping his hands that he was so used to doing. Around he wrapped, over and under, and finally secured the Velcro straps that this pair of wraps came with. When he was finished he noticed Kiba pulling out what looked like dog leashes from the bag. He watched as Kiba tossed them over the pipe and latched the hook part of the leash to the two metal rungs on the ground. He repeated with the same action with the second leash. When he was done Kiba turned to the two men. They had been extremely silent since entering the room. So much so that Shikamaru had forgotten they were even present. Kiba took a step towards them.

"Alright boys, Shirts off." The two men stared dumbfounded at Kiba. "Did I fucking stutter! I said shirts off!" The two men quickly complied with the shouting mans demands. In a flash they stood before Kiba. Covering their chest with crossed arms. "Hands out." The twins glanced at each other. "God damn, are you two idiots deaf or something? Hands out!" They listened this time and put their hands forward. In a blur Kiba pulled two metallic items out of the bag and has them secured quickly. Shikamaru moves his head to get a better look and sees handcuffs on both men. Only one wrist cuffed. Kiba grabs them by the back of their necks. They attempt to struggle out of his grip, but their attempt is futile. He kicks the back of one of the men's legs and he goes down for a moment. Kiba quickly takes the one standing; put's the handcuff through the leather loop of the dog chain and latches the open cuff to the man's other wrist. He pulls the other brother to his feet and does the same.

Shikamaru watches silently, unsure of what to do. Kiba returns to his duffel bag and quickly wraps his hands. He pulls out two pairs of gloves and passes one pair to Shikamaru and continues to strap his own. Shikamaru watches curiously as he begins to stretch. He smiles at Shikamaru and speaks "Always stretch before a workout." Shikamaru watches as he walks towards the twin hanging on the right side and assumes a boxing stance. Shikamaru's eyes open wider as Kiba pulls back and lands a heavy left hook to the man's midsection. The man lets out a gasp of pain and his head sinks down. Kiba continues to fire on him. Red marks growing all over the man's body. Kiba stops and catches his breath. He turns to Shikamaru. "What are you waiting for?" He gestures to the other brother. Shikamaru is shocked. Kiba notices his hesitance. "I know you don't want to, I don't want to either, but this is the only way for us to get fights." As much as it pained him to admit it, Kiba was right it was what had to happen if he wanted to pay off Kurenai's debts. Stepping towards the man Shikamaru assumes the stance, he pulls back his hand, but the terrified look in the man's eyes stop him. He drops his hands and takes a step back. Kiba turns towards him. "Hey man, I know it's tough, It's hard for me too, but I just think of it as heavy bag practice and that makes it a little easier."

Shikamaru steps back towards the man. Kiba's words ring in his head. "It's just a heavy bag." He mutters to himself. He keeps saying it in his head and forces it to become true. There is no longer a man in front of him, just the black heavy bag that hangs in his gym. He takes a deep breath and it begins.

He starts like he always does: left jab, double Left jab, right straight, step in with the right, finish with the left hook to the body. Something strange happens, a noise. Shikamaru is confused he's never heard a heavy bag groan before. He slips back into reality slowly realizing what he is actually doing, but he forces the thoughts out of his head. He returns to his combos. He likes this heavy bag. It's usually hard for him to practice uppercuts on most heavy bags, but this one has a section shaped just like a chin that is perfect for it. He goes all out: leaning in low, pulling strength from his leg as he rises, left right left, right left right. It's as if his gloves are playing a song. He speeds the music up. Then something strange happens again. Wet dark liquid is spraying on him. He is confused again, heavy bags don't bleed. He pushes the thoughts he knows are true out of his head. He continues practicing, works out all his punches. Time flies.

Kiba calls out to him stopping his practice. "Hey, that's enough." Shikamaru is reminded of how his father always has him throw one last combo on the bag when they are done for the day. He goes with his memory. Left jab, weave under, back up, left hook, lean low, right uppercut, left jab, right hook, step in, finish with the left hook to the body. He executes it perfectly. Kiba cheers at his success.

"Wow… That was something special." Shikamaru turns to him and nods in thanks, but when he looks back to the bag it is no longer a heavy bag. It is a red, swollen, bloody heap of flesh. Somewhat resembling the man they had brought in. He is horrified by what he had done, but quickly pushes the thoughts of guilt as far away as possible. He thinks hard about Kurenai and her baby and why this had to happen. He has made a mess of the man, but when he looks at the man Kiba was hitting he feels like a saint in comparison. The face of the man no longer looks like a face. Kiba pulls off the gloves and Shikamaru sees his wraps are blood soaked. Kiba was deadly.

"Come on, Time to go." Kiba says while pulling off his wraps and putting them in the bag, Shikamaru does the same. Kiba nudges Akamaru who had fallen asleep at the doorway the dog and Shikamaru follow him out. The sun has set and the moon has risen, Shikamaru is surprised how much time went by in the dark basement. When the door opens there is someone waiting for them.

A beautiful woman with pink hair covered by a bandanna stands at the doorway. Shikamaru begins to panic, was she aware of what they had just done? Kiba speaks up first. "Hey, they're down there. Job is done." She nods to him and speaks "Alright I'll tell the boss you paid your dues." The woman closes the door and locks it. "We'll get this cleaned up, you can go now." She heads towards her car. Kiba calls out to her. "Hey, where are you going? Come get a drink with me and my new friend!" She smiles at him and then her gaze turns deadly "You wish shit for brains." She slams her car door and peels out. "Oh well, worth a shot, let's go man."

Shikamaru is unsettled in the car ride back to the gym. He is disgusted by the act he just committed. He is not sure if those two men are dead or not. He decides now is a time to ask Kiba questions. "What did those two guys do?" he asks quietly. Kiba shrugs "Hell if I know, the boss man just said to do it, and I know you're wondering who this boss guy is, but don't ask I've never met him. I got in this mess the same way you did. I needed a fight; He gave me a way to get the fight. I've done this three times now and I've gotten three fights from it. It's messed up I know, but it's our only way in to the game. Look on the bright side of things, we got our fight now." Shikamaru is even more unsettled by how lightly Kiba is taking things. He decides to quickly change the subject. "Do you know who you're going to be fighting yet?" Kiba laughs at his question "They didn't tell you?" Shikamaru is confused. "Tell me what?" Kiba chuckles again. "We're fighting each other. We did this to get on the card for the next fight." He laughs when he is done speaking, but Shikamaru is silent. Shikamaru knew he needed a fight, but after he saw what Kiba did to the man in the basement, he was worried what Kiba could do to him in the ring.

Soon after Kiba pulled up to the Sarutobi gym, he quickly said his goodbyes to Shikamaru excusing waving him off as he pulled away. Shikamaru looked back to see Akumaru sticking his head out of the window.

When he enters the gym his father calls out to him. "Hey kid, get warmed up and hit the heavy bags." Shikamaru grimaces at the thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**I wanted to post this earlier, because I wanted to get Temari more involved in the story since reviewers were asking for that, but I had boxing today and my body totally went in to shutdown mode when I got home. My trainer has had me sparring with his son lately. We're the same age and height, but I'm a Lightweight and he's a Welterweight so he has quite a few pounds on me, plus a lifetime more experience than I do. So all week I've been getting knocked around the ring. When I'm just training with him he doesn't seem that much bigger than me, but the moment we step in the ring he's like a giant. On the brightside I can hold my ground to him and not get knocked out, but on the not so bright side he's been beating me senseless all week. Either way It's good for me. Thanks for all the reviews, I'll try to update faster.**

I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 7: Back to Basics

Shikamaru despised living with his parents, he had learned a few things from his short time living independently, but the biggest lesson he learned was that everything was expensive. He struggled for a few months; he could never seem to work enough hours to pay his rent and still have enough to eat. It was embarrassing to have to return to the home that he had sworn he'd never return to after an argument with his father and mother. When he did return with his head down he expected to be turned away, but his mother quickly embraced him and told him to go to get ready for dinner. It was one of the few times he had seen his mother acting maternal and it was greatly appreciated. His father did not say a word, but Shikamaru could tell by the Shogi board that's pieces had been left in the same position since the last time they had played that his father had been expecting his return.

With his upcoming fight with Kiba on the horizon, living at home was becoming unbearable. It was impossible for Shikamaru to get the sleep that he so desired. His mother would kick him out of bed in the morning demanding that he clean up around the house. Then at night his father would kick him out of bed demanding him to go to the gym and train for his fight. According to Shikaku since the fight would take place at night, it was necessary for Shikamaru to train at night so that his body would be ready when the night hours came.

Shikamaru had been training alone at the gym for two weeks and was used to the silence of the building, but when he unlocked the door on this night he noticed someone had left the lights on. When he stepped in the usual silence was nowhere to be found, but the familiar sound of the heavy bag being hit was present. He wondered who was training this late and if they had permission from his father. He attempts to get a view of who is hitting the bag, but the bag itself obscures his view. He can hear muffled music being played. He steps around the bag to get a view. A familiar curvy blonde woman jabs at the bag. Shikamaru stands shocked at the sight of her. His eyes betray him as he looks her over from bottom to top. Her muscular legs flexed in a stance, tight dark purple shorts hugging tightly to her hips, her mid section exposed, her tan skin sparkling with a thin layer of sweat, her chest covered by a tight top sporting the Adidas logo. As his eyes made their way to her face her view snaps towards him. Temari gasps in shock and throws a jab towards Shikamaru's general direction. His instincts take over and he shifts his mid section to the left weaving an inch away to avoid it.

Temari pulls her headphones out with a little more force than necessary. "What the hell are you doing!?" she yells at Shikamaru who had just relaxed after avoiding her hit. Shikamaru's voice rises to match hers. "What am I doing? You're the one hitting me!" Temari takes a moment to calm down she puts a hand on her hip and uses the other to gesture towards Shikamaru. "Well then you shouldn't have snuck up on me, what are you doing here anyways? It's nighttime." Shikamaru wonders if she's not aware of how obvious it is. "It's not that hard, I'm a boxer. This is a boxing gym. Even someone like you could put the two together." Temari crossed her arms at his insult. She does not reply to his taunting. "What are you doing here? Last I checked you're not a boxer." Temari scoffs at him. "I was here late going over contracts for Chouji. I didn't want to waste a drive back to my brother's gym to do my work out so I figured I'd just do it here." Shikamaru mumbled a reply. "Troublesome… Well can you leave now, I have to start training. I have a fight coming up." Temari raised an eyebrow at his words. "Oh really? A skinny twerp like you got a fight. Against who?" Shikamaru's tone went on the defensive. "What do you mean? I'm perfectly capable of getting a fight. Next month against a guy named Kiba Inuzuku." Temari laughed. "You're fighting Mad Dog Kiba? Well then, have fun losing." Shikamaru was surprised for a moment. "You know of him?" he asks. "Of course I do, that guy had an amazing amateur record. The crowd loves him. He's an all out brawler. He's got this signature punch the "Fang over Fang" where he pressures his opponent in to a corner and then rocks him with overhand right and left hooks. All his fights either ended in knockouts or the ref stopped them."

The words got to Shikamaru, he had already seen how deadly Kiba was in the basement. It worried him to know that he was just as deadly or even more so in the ring. He needed to think of a strategy. He needed to analyze his opponent, but that would have to wait for another night. For now he had to focus on training.

"You can stay or go, I don't care, but I have to start training now." Temari nodded at his words. Shikamaru wasn't comfortable having her around, but he needed to focus on the things that mattered. He unzips his bag and retrieves his jump rope and begins his cardio training. Alternating between hops in different directions and hops on one foot his breathing slows to a relaxed pace. He speeds up his jump, but tries to keep his heart rate steady. This was important in the ring, because a boxer who uses too much energy too early in the fight will be outpunched later on.

During his jump his eyes slowly drifted towards Temari who had resumed hitting the bag. It sickened him that she could even be remotely attracted to the monster of a man that had killed Asuma let alone date the bastard. She was fit, more so than Shikamaru had seen in other women of her age. As he watched he noticed something off about the way she was hitting. He puts down his jump rope and grabs his gloves and approaches her. Just like before she is in her own world as she hits the bag, music blaring from her headphones. He grabs the wires connecting her headphones to her iPod and yanks it out of her ears.

"What the hell man!" she starts, but before she can finish yelling he speaks. "You're doing it wrong. If you're going to do it, you might as well do it right. It's a bother, but I'll show you." She begins to protest, but Shikamaru ignores her as he straps the gloves on and assumes his stance at the heavy bag next to the one she is using. "Stand like I am." Temari looks at his stance for a moment and slowly mimics it. "We start with the left jab. The left jab is the key to all punches. Use it to check your reach, test your opponent's reflexes, distance yourself from an attacker, and to open opportunities for bigger punches. Watch how I do it." Shikamaru snaps his left hand out and returns it quickly to its guarding position. Temari does the same, but lets her hand drop as she finishes. "Don't drop it. That's the worst thing you can do. After every punch return the hand to the guarding position. No matter what keep your guard up. Chin down with gloves covering the side of your cheeks. That's a good place to start learning the basics of defense." Temari repeated her jab and returned it to its rightful position after it was finished. "That looks better, just pull it back faster. Now the right straight, this is the follow up punch. We throw the left jab and follow up with the right straight." Shikamaru demonstrates for her. To his surprise she gets it instantaneously and looks quite solid as she hits the bag. "Good, that's a one two. The left jab is the one; the right straight is the two." She flashed a quick smile as she repeated the punches. "Alright now we learn the three. It's the left hook." Shikamaru demonstrates it for her. Temari attempts to copy it, but she can't get it right. She tries multiple times, but she can't seem to get it. Shikamaru speaks up. "You're dropping your hand as you punch, Keep it straight as you follow through, It's called a hook, because the punch hooks around, picture hitting the side of the head with this punch, not the chin. You'll begin to drop it low if you picture the chin. It helps me to think of it as I'm making my arm in to an L shape and it is swinging towards my opponent." Temari listens and tries again, the punch looks better, but it does not hit hard. Finally Shikamaru realizes the problem and knows how hard it is to describe in words. He uses the same method Asuma used to teach him.

He walks up behind Temari and grabs on to her hips one hand on each side. She lets out a small noise of surprise and Shikamaru can hear the sharp breath she is taking to let of a yell at him, he speaks before she can. "Just bare with me, this is hard to explain with words." Temari opens her mouth to protest, but gives up halfway and listens to what Shikamaru has to say. "You're not using your hips. Hips are where the strength comes from. It's hard to explain, you have to feel it. You bring the power from your stance, so it comes from the foot. And it works its way up through your legs and your hips use all of it at once to give the punch fuel." Temari looks over her shoulder a bit confused. "I know it's hard to understand, let me show you. Keep your stance the same and locked in a bit" He moves Temari's hips towards the left. They shift with his hands. "Alright put your left hand in hook position." She obeys his demands. "Now put force in to your punch as I shift your hips to the right." Temari nods to let him know she understands. He pulls her hips back towards the right and her left fist follows a heavy thud hits the bag. Temari speaks with excitement. "I get it now." She shifts her hips on her own and throws her left hook over and over. Shikamaru can't help, but feel proud at what he's accomplished.

"Shikamaru…" she says quietly. "Yeah?" he asks. "You can let go now." It takes Shikamaru a moment to understands what she means, but after looking down he saw his hands were still holding on to her hips. He quickly lets go and distances himself from her, his cheeks warming up no matter how much he tries to force them not to. She laughs at his actions. Her laughter is coarse and rough, and for some odd reason Shikamaru finds himself enjoying it, and then it hits him again. This was the woman who was with that monster who had taken Asuma from the land of the living; he quickly regains his ill thoughts of her in his mind.

He reverts back to his cold glare and body language he had reserved especially for her. "Well were done now. I'm going back to training." Temari had taken notice of his hostility. "Thanks then." Shikamaru began walking back to his corner of the gym. "Whatever" he mutters over his shoulder. Faintly he can here an insult whispered under her breath. He forces himself not to look back. In fear that he might like what he sees.


	8. Chapter 8

**Tried getting this up earlier, but I had to do roadwork today, Good news is I'm getting closer to boxing at featherweight, I was a Welterweight last month boxing at 147. In the last month I've dropped about ten to thirteen pounds. It alternate's depending on when I weigh myself, that puts me at about 135 right now with the goal being 125 or 125.5 so that alone has me in good spirits, Which in turn make me feel like writing more. The fight between Kiba and Shikamaru is taking a long time to finish, So here's the first half of it and I'll upload the second once I finish it. Hope you guys enjoy, I'm really thankful for your review. They help out a lot. **

**I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 8: Dogfight

Once again Shikamaru found himself in a locker room, much like the one he sat in on the night of his fight with Lee, except this one was much less luxurious, in actuality the entire building they were in was less extravagant than Konoha stadium, but that was to be expected seeing as how this was not a multimillion dollar fight and no title was on the line. Most of the boxers that would be fighting tonight were much like Shikamaru, all of them had just started making their names in the boxing world.

Shikamaru's father stands at the door of the locker room eying his son. He had attempted to get Shikamaru to explain to him how he got this fight, but whenever the subject was brought up, his son would steer clear of anything close to an answer to Shikaku's inquiries. As much as he tried not to, Shikaku was worried for his son. He felt confident in his sons abilities, but after viewing some tapes of his sons opponent, he worried his son would not be able to keep up with Kiba's aggressiveness.

Nerves were getting to Shikamaru as an official entered the room and informed him the fight was about to begin. Shikamaru let out a deep breath and stood to exit. The walk to the ring felt like an eternity. Thoughts raced through his head, he had his strategy for counteracting Kiba imbedded in his memory, but he couldn't help but think of the worst case scenarios. The moment the ring announcer began speaking the thoughts were slashed out of his mind and focus forced its way in.

"Now entering the ring fighting out of the blue corner, weighing in at One hundred twenty five pounds, with a professional record of one win, zero loses, and zero draws. Shikamaru Nara!" The crowd cheers as Shikamaru ascends the steps towards the ring. When he enters he takes a look around. The crowd is not as loud as at his first fight. He could see empty seats in some spots of the crowd, although his surroundings were not ideal, a fight was a fight.

He glanced towards the ringside seats searching the crowd for Chouji. It wasn't hard to find him; he was one of the largest people in the room. He picked his friend out in the crowd, but noticed two familiar women next to him; the first was not a surprise to him. Ino was on his left. The platinum haired girl had been around as long as Shikamaru could remember. Her father was involved with the gym so Ino was just always around. She quickly took a liking to Chouji and Shikamaru at a young age. She was one of the few people who Shikamaru had kept in touch with over his two year absence from the gym; she didn't give him the choice of falling out of touch. For months she would call or storm in to his home demanding he get back in the ring, but after so many failed attempts she gave up.

The other woman's face sent a shiver up his spine. Next to his large friend on the right Temari sat with her legs crossed in front of her. As if Temari could sense he was staring she instantly looked up at him, they locked eyes for a moment. Shikamaru held the glare a bitter taste growing in the back of his mouth. She had no business being there, and he went through his mind thinking of reasons as to why she would be at his fight, and sitting next to his two closest friends. How could they even allow her to take part in this?

The voice of the announcer forced him to break eye contact with her. "Now entering the ring fighting out of the red corner, weighing in at One hundred twenty six pounds, with a professional record of three wins, zero loses, and zero draws. Kiba "Mad Dog" Inuzuka!" The crowd cheers as Kiba enters the ring. He pumps both fist towards the sky.

Both men approach the center of the ring. The referee of the fight grabs both men's wrists and begins explaining the rules of the fight. When he finishes he asks them to touch gloves. As Shikamaru hits Kiba's gloves he is taken aback as Kiba snarls. The cheerful man who he rode in the black car with is nowhere to be found. He is in the ring with an animal. The bell rings and it begins.

Both men approach each other. Kiba beats Shikamaru to the jab. Shikamaru leans back away from it. Shikamaru puts his plan in to action. Keeping Kiba at bay with quick jabs from the outside and attempting to pull ahead from him on the score cards early in the fight.

A smack to his side makes Shikamaru exhale sharply in pain. Kiba was inches away from him. Shikamaru barely manages to block a flurry of punches in time. Instantly he knows his plan won't work. He had not accounted for Kiba being this quick. He assumed because the man had heavy and aggressive finishing punches that he would have the speed advantage over Kiba, but going by how quickly Kiba had closed the gap between them Shikamaru knew that he was at a disadvantage in both the speed and power aspects of this fight.

Kiba continues to close the gaps as Shikamaru attempts to distance himself using quick jabs and straights while simultaneously stepping backwards. It appears to be working and then it stops. Shikamaru feels his back press up against something solid. He's in the corner; his survival technique had been turned against him. Kiba had used Shikamaru's back step to lead him in to the corner. Shikamaru knows what comes next. Kiba gets toe to toe with Shikamaru and locks his stance in tight. He leads with a left jab and a right straight to keep Shikamaru pinned and then it begins. The "Fang over Fang" the crowd cheers because they have been waiting for it. This was Shikamaru's worst case scenario that he had played in his mind so many times. He had planned for this. He raises his hands to cover his head from the sledgehammer hooks that Kiba is alternating between. The force from the blows hitting his gloves knocks his head side to side.

Kiba takes notice of Shikamaru's defense; he leans low and delivers the same alternating hooks to the sides of Shikamaru's body. He takes four hooks, two on each side before he drops his hands to protect his body. The moment he does Kiba rises and swings for his head.

It feels as if a wrecking ball has hit the side of his skull. Shikamaru's legs wobble, Kiba does not show mercy. Over and over he rocks hooks off of Shikamaru's skull, He keeps swinging furiously until his fists stop connecting. Shikamaru is no longer in front of him. Kiba looks side to side in search of his opponent. The ref pushes him back to his corner, and he finally finds where Shikamaru is, slumped in the corner with the ref counting to ten.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's the final part of Shikamaru and Kiba's fight, Hope you enjoy.**

I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 9: Animal abuse. 

Shikamaru's head feels heavy. A small cut has opened over his left eye. He is disappointed in himself, he had thought he had this whole fight mapped out in his head, but here he was on the canvas with no one to blame but himself. The ref is counting and Shikamaru knows he is running out of time, he digs deep to find the strength necessary to pull himself back up, he makes it right before the count is over with the help of the ropes to pull himself up. He quickly assumes the fighting position, the ref checks his gloves. Over the refs shoulders Shikamaru can see Kiba bouncing, ready to finish the fight. The ref signals for them to box and Kiba rushes in to finish it, Shikamaru can hear the three claps signaling there is only ten seconds left in the round. He finds comfort in the noise, if he can hold out for ten more seconds he can rest up. Kiba throws a barrage of punches. Shikamaru keeps his guard tight, it feels like an eternity, but finally the bell rings and both men return to their corner.

The moment it is put in front of him, Shikamaru sinks to seat in the stool. His father takes out his mouth guard and pours water over his head. Shikaku yells trying to get as many words as he can of advice to Shikamaru in the time they have. Shikamaru's ears are still ringing from Kiba's punches, making it impossible to clearly make out what his father was saying.

His eyes drifted off and scanned over the crowd, his eyes fell upon Chouji who stared with great focus while his mouth moved furiously to chew the chips he was tossing in to his mouth, Ino sat next to him her eyes not even on the ring, but on her phone as her fingers danced across the keyboard. His eyes made their way to Temari, she was looking at him and in comparison to the other two next to her, she looked the most concerned.

The way she looked at him infuriated Shikamaru, he refused to be looked down upon by her. He needed to win this fight, he had to. To get that look off of her face and so that she would know he was a force to be reckoned with, and that he would be the man to defeat the monster she had taken on as a lover.

He closed his eyes and thought of a way to win furiously, his hands forming the same sign they always did when he needed to think clearly. The final pieces of his plan fall in to place as the bell rings; he pops in his mouth piece and stands.

Off to the side of the ring in the seats, Chouji stops his furious chewing and returns to his normal calm state. He had been worried his friend would actually lose in the last round, but after seeing him assume his thinking position while in his corner he knew the fight would be over soon.

"Shouldn't they stop the fight?" Temari asks the large man. Chouji is surprised by the genuine concern in her voice; he had wondered why she was so worried having known there was such a deep animosity between the blonde and his friend. "Pay attention Temari, Shikamaru is about to win." Temari turned to him in shock "What do you mean? He got destroyed last round, Kiba is on another level than him." Chouji chuckled at her statement. "Just watch, alright?" Temari began to speak, but Ino spoke without breaking eye contact with her phone, before she could get a word out. "Don't even worry about it, Shikamaru always wins." Temari looks back to the ring in doubt, but a small part of her hopes that the two of them are right.

Back in the ring Shikamaru puts his plan in to action. He continues the same way he had started out the first round, attempting to keep Kiba at bay with jabs while stepping back away from his powerful advances. He can hear his father yell from his corner, this is the exact opposite of what Shikaku wants to see. His father assumes that a repeat of the last round is on the way. Shikamaru takes this as a good sign, if his father sees this as a repeat of the last round, and then Kiba also sees this as a repeat of the last round, which he will need for this to work.

Just as he had calculated, Shikamaru arrived in the same corner as last time. Kiba repeats the intro to his signature punch. Soon Shikamaru's guard is being rocked again by the "Fang over Fang" he can hear the crowd yelling in a frenzy just like before, He can hear his father screaming at him to get out of the corner, Kiba leans low. Shikamaru allows him to get the same amount of hits on his sides as the last time before dropping his hands to protect his body, when he does Kiba rises and swings for the head. Shikamaru takes each hit; they rock his head side to side. He waits for it and then takes a heavy right hand. He lets his head snap all the way to the left, and as he does he spits out his mouth guard. He allows his legs to wobble, and slowly he goes down. The crowd cheers, the ref gets ready to call a second knockout, Shikamaru keeps his eyes up, and then he sees it, Kiba's arms have stop swinging. Shikamaru's moment has come.

He flexes his legs and regains strength in them, His body already low. He steps forward with his left foot, pivots twice with his right, and the first part of his plan has succeeded. Kiba turns around just in time to have a left jab and right straight push him backwards.

For the first time in his boxing career Kiba is trapped in the corner. He is unsure of what just happened and how he got here, but hit feels like he is looking in a mirror. Shikamaru steps in, locks his stance in tight, and then the second part of his plan begins.

The crowd that was silence by his amazing recovery is now cheering loudly as they see what is going on. Shikamaru is rocking Kiba's head side to side with alternating left and right hooks. They are finally getting to see the "Fang over Fang" they have been waiting for, but it is not Kiba throwing it.

Kiba's head smacks from side to side, his hands have fallen limply to his side. Shikamaru continues to pound away, Kiba loses feelings in his legs. Shikamaru pulls a left hook as far back as he can. He throws it with all his strength; it lands hard on Kiba's chin with an audible smack. The crowd goes silent at the sight of the brutal punch. Kiba's mouth guard goes flying, and by the time it has hit the ground, Kiba has also fallen.

The ref begins the count, but after seeing the blank stare in Kiba's eyes from where he laid, he waves his hands signaling an end to the fight.

Back in the seats Temari stares dumbfounded. "How the hell did he do that!?" she asks Chouji. "That right there is what makes Shikamaru a great fighter; He always finds a way to win. Ask him yourself if you want to know so badly." Temari was amazed; she had to know how he did it.

"Your winner, by way of knockout, Shikamaru Nara!" The crowd yells in appreciation, Shikamaru can't help but smile as his glove is raised. He turns to Kiba who had just made it to his feet. Shikamaru approached the injured man and they hugged as a show of good sportsmanship, but before they broke the embrace Kiba whispered the same thing he had told Shikamaru that day in the basement after he had watched Shikamaru beat the hanging man.

"Wow… That was something special."


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up, but I've been really busy. In addition to all the boxing stuff I do, For the past couple of years I've been a touring Slam and Performance Poet. So every once in awhile someone pays me to go somewhere and perform or teach. So I was gone the past couple of days doing that, and I didn't have much time on my hands. Anyways I'm back now and I hope to get a few more chapters out soon. I hope you guys are enjoying the story, and I really appreciate your reviews. I get hyped every time I see that I have a new one. So keep them coming.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 10: Day Off

For the first time in three days since his fight, Shikamaru was able to get up out of bed. The swelling and bruising had begun to go down and even though every movement sent a thunder of pain throughout his body, he was sick of having his mother hover over him. It had always surprised Shikamaru how kind his mother could become in the days following a fight, In his childhood he'd watch his father with jealousy as his mother made him all his meals and brought them to him in bed. At a young age, having food brought to him in bed seemed like something worth wishing for. Even in his earliest years, Shikamaru had despised getting out of bed, and most of the time the reason he was required to get up was because his mother would yell at him to come to the table for breakfast. Being allowed to stay in bed and eat would solve all his problems. He never understood why his father would demand that his mother give him some time alone. Until now, for three days Yoshino had checked on her son every five minutes, constantly asking if there was anything she could get him. He couldn't count how many times he had said no to her in the past seventy two hours, but the thought of one more day of being stuck in the house with her was enough to jump start his healing process and get him out of bed quickly.

As he stepped out his front door and lit his first cigarette of the day he was overcome with a strange uncomfortable feeling, he realized it was because it was the first time in months he had left the house while wearing anything other than workout clothes. It was also the first time in months he hadn't left his house at a jogging pace. He had been doing roadwork for so long that he had forgotten how it felt to walk in the morning.

Shortly after realizing all this he thought of something else that was a major flaw in his day. With his body still in recovery and not fit for training, he simply found that he had absolutely nothing to do. Shikamaru came to the conclusion that he had not led much of an eventful life, in his childhood and teenage years he would go to school and then go to the gym to train with Asuma. Even when he quit boxing, he would go to his classes and then go to work. With no job and no training to do he realized there were no other activities that he participated in.

Shikamaru was never much of a social butterfly, he found that people were often the most difficult things to deal with; he would balance between being kind enough to seem polite, but distant enough for people not to get attached to him. Often times in his youth he would come up with excuses as to why he would not be able to spend time with people whenever they asked him to an outing. After dwelling on his thoughts, Shikamaru decided all that was left was to go to the gym and ask Chouji if he wanted to go eat lunch, an offer Shikamaru knew his friend would never even think to refuse.

Shikamaru felt more comfortable once he entered the Sarutobi gym and heard the familiar sounds. He waved towards his father who was working in the ring with Konohamaru Sarutobi, Asuma's nephew and one of the youngest members of the gym.

"Oii Chouji!" Shikamaru announced his entrance as he pushed open the office of the gym where Chouji could usually be found. Instead of finding his large friend stuffing his face with a bag of chips, he found someone else. A familiar pair of teal eyes glanced up from papers that were strewn all over the desk as Shikamaru entered.

"You just missed him." Temari spoke as she signed her name at the bottom of a sheet of paper. "What are you doing here? Where is Chouji?" Shikamaru demanded, his voice sounding harsher than he had intended it to. Temari kept her cool as she spoke. "Just working on some contracts, He didn't say where he was heading, why do you ask?" Shikamaru sighed at the fact that his day planned had been ruined and raised a hand to rub the back of his head. "Well... I was planning on taking him to lunch." Temari perked up at his words. "Lunch? Sounds great I'm starving. Let's go." Temari quickly got up and grabbed her coat and walked past Shikamaru at the doorway. Shikamaru was speechless, he attempted to figure out a way to deny her, but he drew a blank. "Are you coming or what?" she asks. Shikamaru considered his options, but after realizing he had nothing else to do with his day off, he decided he might as well go with the flow of things.

A few minutes later he found himself seated opposite of Temari in the same restaurant he had taken her to before. "You're a cheap guy aren't you?" Temari asks while looking at the menu, Shikamaru could feel a small part of him already being bothered by her. "I'm not, Why would you say so?" Temari smirked at his words. "Well you took me to the same place and I figure you're putting the money on Chouji's tab again? So that means you've taken me out to eat twice and not paid either time." Shikamaru considered her words before speaking. "Well, I'm not a cheap person. If I were taking a girl out, I would pay, but I'm not taking you out. You just came without asking, and I would never take a girl like you out, so there's no way I'm ever paying for you." Temari scoffed at his words. "And what's so bad about me?" she asks as she crosses her arms. Shikamaru had been waiting for an opportunity like this, he had been prepared of all the things he wanted to go off on her about, and now was his chance. "Where do I even begin? You're such a bother, every time you're around it makes everything difficult for everyone else, you are too aggressive, it's not a good look on a woman of your age and standing, I think you make it your life goal to cause trouble for me, you are everything I despise in one package, and the worst thing about you is that you're with that bastard, even the thought of knowing he has been near you drives me sick to my stomach. You disgust me."

A silence fell around them; all of the other patrons of the restaurant had their eyes on the two. Shikamaru instantly felt the weight of guilt in his stomach. Temari had broken eye contact and was looking down at the table. Shikamaru felt the urge to apologize to her for his outburst, but he couldn't conjure up the words. "Well… whatever Nara, No one gives a shit what you think." Temari spoke with a smile. Shikamaru felt the mood lighten around thanks to her carefree answer, but by the way her eyes had looked the moment before she spoke he could tell that his words had hurt her in some way. Another awkward silence fell around them, and Shikamaru was glad when the food was brought, because it gave them something other to focus on than conversation.

After a few minutes of eating Temari spoke up, "So how did you do it?" Shikamaru finished chewing before answering. "How did I do what?" Temari pointed a stick of grilled meats at him as she spoke. "How did you beat Kiba? It's been bugging me all week. I mean, you were finished in that fight, and then a second later he was on the canvas. What's your secret Nara?" Shikamaru thought for a moment about what his secret in the ring might be. "Well, there is no secret. It was just a simple mind game. After the first round ended, I knew I was far behind on the score cards with addition to the knockdown, so it was absolutely necessary that I knocked Kiba out. The problem was that I couldn't get close to him without getting hit, so I used the last round to my advantage. I made him think I was using the exact same strategy as the first round. I stepped back the same amount of steps I had in the first round, in to the same exact corner I was trapped in before. Then I let him land the same exact hits that he did the first time, in the same places he landed them, before I went down. In addition to my father's panicked yelling, the crowd's cheers, and the image of my mouth guard being knocked out, I was able to convince Kiba he had knocked me out the same exact way he had in the first round. And when he dropped his guard, I was able to get around him to trap him in the corner, and well you saw the rest of it."

Temari was amazed, she had never thought it was possible for a boxer to fake a knockout in order to get one of his own, and if she had not seen it with her owns eyes she would have trouble believing it had happened. Her interest in Shikamaru as a boxer and as a person grew instantly, she had assumed that Chouji was the star boxer of the Sarutobi Gym, but maybe there was more than one star under the roof of that building.

"What were you doing at that fight anyways? You weren't invited." Temari laughed at Shikamaru's question, and how hell bent he was on making her know that she was not welcome around him. "Chouji invited me; I was going in hopes to see you get your ass beat. That would have been a dream come true." Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed. "Well next time don't go, I don't think I want to see you there." Temari laughs again. "Well like I said before Nara, nobody gives a shit what you think; now finish eating so you can take me back."

Shikamaru considered retaliating with his words, but her laughter stopped him in his tracks. It was a coarse and raspy laugh, it reminded him of sandpaper, it was tough, but comforting. Shikamaru decided that it fit Temari perfectly. He decided against egging her own with insults and banters and to just enjoy the rest of his meal in silence with the young woman.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry this has been taking me so long to get posted, but with boxing and classes I've been pretty busy. I'll try to step my writing up and get more chapters posted. All your reviews are so helpful, someone said that this story had got them interested in boxing and it was the best compliment I could ask for. I'm glad at least a few of you out there are enjoying it. Let me know what you think of it so I can grasp how it's being received. Enjoy.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 11: Dealing with the Devil.

A week after his lunch with Temari, Shikamaru's body was almost completely healed. He deemed it appropriate to get some form of training done so as to not become unfit for the ring. Shikamaru found it easier to run towards the late afternoon when it would begin to cool down. It was after one of his light jogs that upon returning to the gym he noticed a familiar black car with racing stickers on it. Shikamaru became nervous, before him stood the animal he had faced in the ring. He ran through different scenarios in his head, wondering what reason Kiba had for visiting him at the gym, he hoped that it was not a negative reason, or one that could escalate in to something worse.

"Hey man what's up!? I have a job for you!" Kiba shouted towards him as he approached. Akamaru barked as to welcome Shikamaru's presence. From the tone in his voice Shikamaru could infer that he was not upset, but was still curious to what he was doing there. "What kind of job?" Shikamaru ask hesitantly. Kiba lowered his voice before replying, "The same kind of job we did together before, but this time for money." Shikamaru began to shake his head to protest, but Kiba began talking faster.

"Whoa Whoa, hear me out. I know it's not ideal, but we both need the cash. We're both fighting for something. I want to keep the local dog shelter open, and you want to take care of that baby." Shikamaru's eyes opened in surprise, how had Kiba known about Kurenai's child. The look on his face must have given him away, because before he could ask the question Kiba had answered it. "Chouji told me about it all, I think it's great what you're doing so I'm trying to help you out. Look we go in, we do the job, we get paid, and this will hold us over until our next fights."

Shikamaru wanted to say no, but he took a moment to consider the pros to Kiba's offer. After all the expenses were paid, Shikamaru wasn't left with much money. A few days after he could move, he put his prize money in an unmarked envelope and slid it in to Kurenai's mailbox at night. He knew she would never accept the money from him if he gave it to her, so he hoped she would just take it to pay her debts and not have to know where it came from. As much as his mind told him not to Shikamaru saw no other choice, but to accept. He made a promise, and he intended to keep it.

"I'm in."

Weeks turned to months. Shikamaru found himself in Kiba's car more often than he'd have liked, but he needed the money. Over time Shikamaru learned how to simply block out the deeds he was doing. He would let his mind shut down and his body would do the work. After they were finished the woman with pink hair from before would hand them both an envelope with a stack of money in it. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Shikamaru would drop the envelopes in to Kurenai's mailbox whenever he had a chance. He had assumed she was using the money, because she had not questioned him about it since he starting leaving it for her, and he also assumed she had no idea that it was him leaving the money.

Shikamaru's consciousness returned as the door to the familiar basement slammed behind him. For a moment he wonder who he and Kiba had just beaten to a pulp, but instantly began pushing the thoughts out of his head. As always the woman with the pink hair and bandanna was waiting for them with two envelopes. Kiba, like always attempted to hit on the woman who gave them their money and like always she refused him, but when Shikamaru went to receive his share she spoke.

"Nara…" Her voice surprised Shikamaru. It was the first time she had said anything to him really, and he wondered how she even knew his name. "Yes?" he asks hesitantly. She takes a step back and opens the passenger seat of her car, gesturing for him to enter. "Get in." she says seriously. Shikamaru glances back towards Kiba who stares in equal shock. Shikamaru slowly gets in to the car. Before he closes the door he can see Kiba take a step towards the car. The woman puts a hand forth to stop him. "Not you dog boy, you wait here for him to come back. Got it?" Kiba's mouth hangs open as he nods. Shikamaru is become worried, the woman he is going to be in the car with seemed incredibly intimidating.

As he watched the sun set through the car window, a sense of worry begins to grow in his stomach, even though he was a professional boxer, something about this situation made him feel uneasy. In the back of his consciousness he could feel his mind telling him this could be a potentially dangerous situation, but he decided to not dwell on it. He hadn't spoken the entire drive, but he couldn't help but be curious as they pulled up to a storefront that's sign read in bold font "REPTILES FOR SALE." The woman who had driven them exits and he takes it as a sign to follow her in.

The shop looked exactly as Shikamaru had expected it to, Glass containers lined the walls carrying all types of reptiles and insects. The pink haired woman spoke. "Come on through to the back." He followed quietly. They passed through what Shikamaru assumed was a break room. There were three other people already seated in different spots of the room. A large man sat at a table chewing his food, a dark skinned teen laid on a couch reading an old spider man comic, and a pale young man with white hair appeared to be having a very heated two way argument with himself in a corner. The dark skinned comic reading man spoke up, "Tayuya, Boss is waiting for him." She nodded towards him and beckoned for Shikamaru to follow. When they arrived at a hall she pointed towards a door at the end, "He's in there, don't keep him waiting."

Shikamaru slowly approached the door taking a breath before opening it. As he did a desk came in to view, with a freakish looking man sitting behind it. "Hello... SsssssHikamaru, it's good to finally meet you." Shikamaru was in shock at the sight of the man before him. It was obvious that the man had a massive amount of body modification done to himself, but even without the work he had done he was strange looking, extremely pale skin and long jet black hair. His eyes had been widened and he was wearing contact making them resemble the eyes of a snake. Snake tattoos wrapped around his arms with the heads of the snakes resting on his the top of his hands. His tongue had been split, and he even slithered when he spoke the S in Shikamaru's name. It suddenly made sense to whom he was standing in front of; Kiba would always say his name whenever they picked up someone to bring back to the basement. This was their boss, this was Slither.

"Do you know who I am boy?" he asks. Shikamaru takes a moment before speaking; this is the man who had all those people beaten by Kiba and himself for whatever reason. He decided it would be wise to choose his word and tone carefully. "Yes, you are Slither." The man let out a spine shivering laugh, "Slither? Oh please Shikamaru, call me Orochimaru, Slither is just some nickname the riff raff of this city have given me. I'm not sure where they get it from." Shikamaru couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or serious, but decided he should learn what he was doing there before something bad happened to him. "May I ask why you've called me here today?" Orochimaru nodded, "Yes Yes, I see you've been working with the dog boy more often, which I assume means you need money? I have an opportunity for you." Shikamaru was wary of opportunities put forth by this man, seeing as how all the other opportunities he has taken from him involved beating people, but he need money badly. "I'm listening."

"All right listen closely, because I'll only say this once. There's this young guy, about your age. He wants to be a boxer, but there is one little predicament standing in the way of his dream. He can't punch for shit. He's got fists made of air; they couldn't knock anyone out no matter how hard they tried. He's got all the other skills down, and he's pretty fast, but he carries no weight in his punches. Thing is he's never lost, always wins by knockouts. Want to know why?"

Shikamaru went through ways a fighter like that could win with a knock out, but could not find one.

"I'll tell you why, his parents happen to be very wealthy and they can afford to how should I say this? Make his opponents not "perform" to their maximum ability." Orochimaru used his bony fingers to put quotations on the word. "So that's why you're here, I can offer you this fight. If you go down in the third round and not get back up, you'll get your money, and trust me, it's a lot more than you'd make in months of punching the people who owe me money in that dirty basement. Do we have a deal?"

Everything within Shikamaru was telling him to refuse, but he knew it was about more than him. He needed to provide for Kurenai and her child. Even if it meant doing the unthinkable.

"I'll do it." He says through gritted teeth. Orochimaru smiles, sharp yellow teeth shine in his mouth. "Tayuya will take you back now, and we'll send the contracts to your gym. You're doing the right thing boy, taking care of your late teacher's child. You don't see that kind of dedication in young people these days." Shikamaru's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?" Orochimaru laughed at his words. "Boy, I know everything there is to know. Never forget that." As Orochimaru waved him away he felt unsettled, unsure how he felt about this man knowing about Kurenai.

Half an hour later Shikamaru waved towards Kiba as Tayuya's car pulled away behind him. Kiba stood as he approached. "Hey! Finally you're back!" Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah sorry about taking so long." Kiba grabbed him by the shoulders. "So how was it?"

Shikamaru was unsure how to respond, but went with his gut. "We'll he was sort of scary." Kiba took a step back. "What do you mean?" Shikamaru looked down, "Our boss, Is a scary guy." Kiba stood in excitement, "You met the boss!?" Shikamaru felt he was missing something in this conversation. "Yeah, isn't that why you asked how it went?" Kiba shook his head laughing. "No man! I thought you and the girl with the pink hair were, y'know, doing it…" Shikamaru rubbed his forehead at the notice of the case of miscommunication they were having.

"No, she was just driving me." Kiba smiled, "Great! That means I still have a shot with her! So what did the boss want?" Shikamaru didn't want to tell Kiba the whole truth, how he was about to throw a fight for money. "Well he gave me a fight…" Kiba smiled again, "That's great news!" Shikamaru felt his spirits dropped the more he thought of what he was doing.

"Yeah, maybe I'll be next, finally things are looking up!" Kiba said loudly, but Shikamaru felt that things were soon going to get much worse than they already were.


	12. Chapter 12

**This took me longer than I wanted to write, but boxing has kept me busy. Coach has moved me up to six round spars which is two more than my usual, and I've been sparring with my coach lately who is an established boxer. So he has about double my lifetime of experience. He's been crushing me all week. I can get hits on him, but he isn't fazed by them at all. On the other hand every hit from him is like a sledgehammer. I don't know how many busted lips and bloody noses I've gotten in the past two weeks, but it's too many to count. Regardless, since I've began sparring with him I've improved dramatically. **

**Anyways here's a new chapter. I hope you guys enjoy, I'm taking your advice and adding more interaction between Shikamaru and Temari in the upcoming chapters, but on the subject of their relationship I want it to be just like the rest of this story. I want them to fight, I want it to be a slow realistic climb to show how relationships that are as difficult as theirs in this story really grow. There will be ups and downs between them and I think that is necessary. Keep on writing reviews. They keep me going. I should be writing a lot more after this weekend, because I'm sure after watching the Pacquiao vs Marquez fight this weekend, I'll be super pumped to write more. Enjoy. **

**I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter 12: Keep your enemies close, and your enemies lovers closer. **

Shikamaru was irritated, with himself and everything around him. Two days after his meeting with Orochimaru a contract was sent to the gym. Everyone congratulated Shikamaru on getting another fight, but the arrival of the contract just made his spirits drop even more. His mind was weighed down heavily with the burden of what he had agreed to do. He was going to throw a fight, for the first time in his life. He was ashamed that he had even agreed to do it, but he needed the money badly.

Shikamaru was also annoyed with his father, Shikaku in light of the news that his son had another fight against an undefeated opponent, decided it was necessary to step up Shikamaru's training. It upset Shikamaru because he felt he was wasting time. There was no point to training if he knew that he was just going to throw the fight, but he could not make it seems suspicious to the others, so he had to do the training.

On a hot afternoon Shikamaru's patience wore thin. After only a few minutes of hitting the bag he excused himself for a cigarette break. Shikamaru sat in the same chair that had been behind the gym since his youth. Shikamaru would often stand next to this chair and chat with Asuma who would sit in it as he smoked. A small grin grew across Shikamaru's face, at the thought of him becoming like his late teacher. If only he could learn to box like him also. Mid thought of this a voice snapped him out of his mind.

"What are you smiling about?" He looked up to see Temari standing at the doorway with her arms crossed. "What are you doing here woman?" Temari takes a step forward towards him. "I smelled smoke and came out to see who it was. Mind if I get one of those?" Shikamaru considered refusing her, but decided it would probably lead to her bothering him even more. He sighs as he hands her one and his lighter. She lights it and takes a deep drag.

Shikamaru's eyes can't help but be dragged to her lips as she blows out a steady stream of smoke. The filter is left with a small smudge of her pale purple lipstick. A small part of his sub-conscious is jealous of the filter. Shikamaru wouldn't deny it to himself, Temari was a beautiful girl, more so than most of the young women he knew, but the fact that the devil who had killed Asuma had put his hands on her was a the ultimate turn off. He couldn't help thinking she was attractive, but he knew he wouldn't find himself attracted to her. She was tainted by the hands that had Asuma's blood on them.

"You shouldn't be smoking these, it's bad for you." Shikamaru shrugs off her words, many people had tried to get him to stop, but something about the release he got from smoking kept him going. "If you quit it would probably help with your stamina, and you're going to need all the help you can get if you want to be the champion."

Shikamaru tenses at her words. She had the audacity to bring him up in front of him. Temari takes notice of his body language. She regrets letting those words slip out in front of him. "Sorry… I didn't notice what I was saying." She apologizes quietly. Shikamaru lets his anger subside. It would be useless getting riled up over it. Eventually he speaks. "What is he like?" Temari is surprised at his question and his serious tone, she had expected him to blow up on her at the mention of the man she was dating, but instead he wanted to know more. "I just don't get it…. How could any woman be with a disgusting excuse for flesh such as that? Why? Why would you do it?" He asks his question calmly. Temari takes a moment to process it all, something about his tone being so calm and collected is even more frightening than if he had yelled at her. She can sense how badly he wants to know.

"When I met him, he was not the man he is today. He was a boy; he trained in the Sabaku gym. I was used to the boys at the gym flirting with me, but he was a persistent one. Every day he would try, and every day I would reject him. Eventually I got so sick of him that I agreed to one date to get him off my back, one turned in to two, and eventually it turned it to the three years we've been dating. I was about your age when we started seeing each other." Shikamaru grits his teeth as she speaks. It upsets him that she speaks of him as if he were a person, not the monster that Shikamaru knows him as.

"We don't see much of each other lately, he's changed a bit. After he became champion his focus was on that. We spend less time together than we used to, but he was always so passionate about his boxing. He's religious about it; sometimes I think he prays to some kind of boxing god or something like that. I mean no disrespect, but you have a long way to go if you want to beat him. He's an amazing boxer. You've got some talent, but you aren't on his level yet."

Shikamaru takes in what she has told him, she has given him a lot to think about. She speaks while he is pondering what she had told him. 'Anyways, don't worry about Hidan right now; focus on your next fight. I've heard a lot about this Neji Hyuga guy. He's undefeated so you'll have to train hard."

Shikamaru's spirits fall again, he feels like he is faking his life at the moment, pretending to be training hard, pretending to enter this fight ready to win. He is disappointed in himself, but he knows it is what he must do. He wonders if Asuma would be ashamed of him, even if he was doing it to fulfill the promise he made to him.

Temari stands and puts out her cigarette. Before she leaves Shikamaru has one last question.

"Do you love Hidan?"

The words stop Temari in her tracks and she has to think about it. She wonders if the fact that she has to think about whether she loves him still or not answers the question for her. She knows there was a time when she was infatuated with him. She wonders if his lack of presence in their relationship has made it go away. It is hard for her to decide what she feels towards him, but she knows it would be wrong for her to deny any love towards him. She knows a part of her still does, and a part of her doesn't anymore.

"I supposed I do…" she says as she enters the gym and leaves Shikamaru alone. For some reason her answer brings him comfort. He finishes his cigarette and sees his enemy in a new light. The more he knows about this man, the more he feels fueled to defeat him. Shikamaru enters the gym and gets back to training, he puts his all in to it, just because he is not training for Neji, does not mean he shouldn't be training for the bigger picture. He launches the heavy bag to the side with a powerful hook, imagining Hidan's face as he pounds away at the bag.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry this took me so long to get up, but this week has been a tough one, it started with Pacquiao losing which was heartbreak, but it happened. I'm the only Filipino in my boxing gym so all week I've been catching hell for it, all in good fun though. This took so long to upload, because I've been really stepping up my time in the gym and sparring, I'm getting a lot better, mostly because I'm about to turn eighteen, which means I could get moved up to adults, so I've been sparring with grown men in their late twenties or early thirties, and I'll tell you, grown man strength is a completely different level than teenager strength, I have the bruises to prove it, I've been taking beatings all week, but it helps when I spar against people my size, I'm not afraid of them at all anymore, because I know I can take the punch of a grown man, and that's a lot scarier than getting hit by someone my age. Anyway sorry this took so long, I'll try to crank out more chapters and chapters of better quality. Keep the reviews coming, they are really helpful. Enjoy.**

I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 13: Promise Punches.  


Shikamaru found himself in the locker room of the same building where he and Kiba had fought. His hands had just been finished wrapped and his gloves were now secured. His father stood at the doorway with a cigarette sitting loosely between his lips.

"Why aren't you warming up? This Neji kid is pretty good; He has faster hands than you. You'll have to keep your distance." Shikaku spoke as he exhaled a steady stream of smoke from his lips. Shikamaru sighed as he stood and threw some half hearted jabs. He didn't see the point in warming up for a fight he knew he was about to throw, it was upsetting him the more he thought about it. He needed the money so badly, but was it enough to make him lose his dignity in the ring.

The thoughts that were plaguing his mind were still present as he takes his first steps to the ring. "Now entering ring, weighing in at one hundred twenty five pounds, with a professional record of 2 wins, zero loses, and zero draws. Shikamaru Nara!" The crowd cheers as Shikamaru raises his fist at the mention of his name. It's hard for him to enjoy the applause; the people in those stands can't comprehend how sick this whole spectacle is making him. How is he supposed to bask in glory if he knows that once that third round comes he will be hitting the canvas regardless of what happens.

Shikamaru glances at the crowd around him, like before he finds Chouji, Ino, and Temari at ringside; he is less surprised to see the woman than the first time. Near them another familiar face catches his eyes. A sun glasses wearing Orochimaru sits next to Tayuya. The sight of the man there sends a chill down Shikamaru's spine.

"Now entering the ring weighing in at one hundred twenty five and a half pounds, with a professional record of four wins, zero loses, all by knockout, Neji Hyuga!" The crowds go wild, Shikamaru sizes up his opponent, he was lean, his arm reach a lot longer than Shikamaru's. His legs were not as muscular either; Shikamaru could tell he was a natural speed puncher. As he glanced towards his face he noticed something strange. Neji was wearing white contacts of some sorts, Shikamaru wondered how he got them in to the ring and if it was a safety hazard. Neji's coach ties his hair back and applies a helping of Vaseline to his face. The two men take their steps towards the middle of the ring. The ref begins to go over the rules, and beckons them to touch gloves. As they do, Neji smiles at Shikamaru. It upsets him more than before. To think that this man's lack of power can be bought out, and that this is the fifth time he has paid his way to victory.

The bell rings and the two men approach each other, right off the bat Neji tests the distance between the two of them with jabs. Everyone who said so was correct, Neji did have fast hands. Shikamaru was having trouble keeping up with where they were in order to dodge or block. One of Neji's jabs broke Shikamaru's guard. Neji instantly acted on it, hitting Shikamaru with a combination to the head.

Shikamaru's instincts kicked in and he went in to a cautious guard, but then he realized something, he couldn't feel Neji's punches, there were plenty of them, but they felt light when he was hit, the round had just started, but Neji was punching like a boxer who was exhausted. With his newfound knowledge, Shikamaru steps in and lands a left hook to Neji's head.

Neji takes a step back and glares at Shikamaru, in the moment Shikamaru realizes his mistake. He is supposed to be losing. Neji steps in again and Shikamaru continues to take his punches. Shikamaru makes sure to jab every so often to make it at least look like he is trying.

The gong rings soon after signaling the end of the round. In the corner Shikaku pours water over Shikamaru's head. "He is fast, but he has no power, keep moving and then drive in to his body." Shikamaru lets his father's words drift away. There was no point to listening to advice, no matter what he did; he would have to go down in that third round.

A click is heard and the seconds leave the ring, Shikaku puts in Shikamaru's mouth guard and the second round begins. Once again Shikamaru allows Neji to land punches, they do not hurt, but there are so many of them it is dizzying. Shikamaru begins to feel his eye swell as Neji continues to pummel away at him. He can hear his father yelling from the sidelines, but he ignores the shouting. Shikamaru's spirit is defeated, he knows how shameful he is fighting, but he needs to make the money.

Shikamaru finds himself cornered, and Neji fires away confidently, it aggravates Shikamaru to see a boxer be satisfied with winning fights without actually earning them. He keeps his guard up as the ref gets closer, hoping that he does not end the fight. Shikamaru occasionally fires back a jab, but throws it short intentionally to make sure he doesn't hit Neji again. By the end of the second round, his left eye is swollen shut from allowing so many punches to land. Even if they weren't strong enough to knock him down, there were enough to make his eye close up.

In his corner Shikaku speaks with a serious tone, "What's going on, I know you're lazy, but at least when you box you put in some type of effort, you aren't even trying." The words hurt Shikamaru, as much as he complained about boxing he knew it was one of the few things he did actually try to succeed at, hearing his father's words stung him, he decided he would tell the truth to try to appeal to Shikaku.

"A man is paying me to lose this fight; I need the money for Kurenai." Shikamaru felt disgusting after saying those words; it was a lot uglier hearing it out loud for the first time. Shikaku stopped applying Vaseline to Shikamaru's left eye. "What did you just say?" Shikamaru couldn't find the words to reply he could see the disgust in his father's eyes. "I have to do it dad… I need this money."

Shikaku pulled away from his son. "How could you even think to do that?! What was it all for Shikamaru?" His father's yell was not something Shikamaru was used to, his dad was never around to punish him when he was young. He was more used to this volume from his mother, but not from his father. "Dad… I…" Shikamaru attempts to explain but is cut off by his father's rage.

"You're putting shame upon our gym, upon me, upon Asuma, and Kurenai. I thought you had what it took, you make me sick. I have always been proud of you, but at the moment, I am ashamed to call you my son. I'm leaving; I don't coach people who give up." Shikamaru could not believe what he was hearing, his father began to pack up his things and took his first step down the stairs and away from the ring, but called over his shoulder before he left, "And you can say goodbye to avenging Asuma, It'll be impossible for you to get a title fight against Hidan without a perfect record."

He watched as his father left the ring. His heart grew heavy, Shikamaru was filled with regret, but this was the choice he had made. He glances towards Chouji, Ino, and Temari. All three stare at him in utter confusion as to why Shikaku has left him alone. It sickens Shikamaru to know that they will witness his fall in the next round, even more so, because Temari will see him go down. He knows he has to do it, but wishes she wouldn't be here to see it. He doesn't want to appear weak in front of her, some small part of him believes that losing in front of her is the equivalent of losing in front of Hidan, and that goes against what he is fighting for. He wonders if it is worth it, to disappoint Asuma in order to keep the promise he made to him.

The bell rings and Shikamaru stands for the third round, prepared for what he is about to do. Neji rushes forward, all is going according to their plan. Shikamaru takes the jabs, and then a right straight that he allows to stun him. Neji goes all out, a flurry of hands so quick that Shikamaru can't comprehend where they are coming from. He takes a deep breath and allows himself to fall. As he hits the canvas he can hear the crowds cheering for Neji, above him he can see the man raise his arms up in celebration before returning to his corner.

The ref begins the count, and Shikamaru begins to think.

1!

This is what he wanted right?

2!

This is the right thing to do.

3!

He made a promise.

4!

He needs to keep it.

5!

No matter what the cost.

6!

But he also made a promise to himself.

7!

To defeat the man who killed Asuma.

8!

And all promises must be kept.

Shikamaru jumps to his feet, the crowd cheers. The ref checks his gloves as he assumes fighting stance. Neji stares in shock, confused to what is going on. Shikamaru smacks his gloves together. He is angry, angry at a man who calls himself a boxer even though he has never won a fair fight in his life, angry at his father for giving up on him, but more so that anyone, Shikamaru is angry at himself for even considering breaking his vow to destroy Hidan, money would come regardless, but he refused to let this be the end of it for him.

"Box!" As soon as the ref's hands clear, Shikamaru dashes forward. Neji throws a flurry of punches at Shikamaru in a panicked state; Shikamaru recalls what Asuma had taught him about speed fighters: Hit them in the body to render their legs useless and slow down their movements. Shikamaru ducks under the flurry of jabs and straights and dashes forward. He pulls backs his hand and lands a heavy left hook to the midsection, the audible smack gives him his confidence back, and he continues to hammer away with hooks and short uppercuts to the body.

Shikamaru punches until he is tired out and quickly steps back. Neji takes notice of Shikamaru's exhaustion, and begins to step forward, but a shocked face tells Shikamaru all he needs to know. He looks down, Neji's legs are wobbling, Shikamaru had successfully tired Neji out, and he was a sitting duck now. Shikamaru takes a deep breath and goes in for the kill. The animalistic side of Shikamaru takes over and fires fast shots towards Neji's head, his opponent keeps a strong guard; Shikamaru changes tactics and goes with slow and heavy over hand hooks. Neji's head is snapped to the side even with the guard. Shikamaru pressures the body and pushes Neji to the ropes, but his guard stays tight. Shikamaru is getting more upset by the second; he is not used to this. He had learned to always be cool and collected in the ring, this was totally different, and he felt like a predator, a hawk swooping down on its prey.

Shikamaru pulls his hooks low and slams them in to Neji's forearms instead, shots continue for what seems like an eternity until a crackle is heard in Neji's left arm, Shikamaru knows he has broken something, close to the wrist. Neji's gasps in pain and his guard drops.

Shikamaru pulls back his right hand and launches it forward. It cracks on Neji's nose and blood spurts out, the nose crackles and twist in an odd way, Neji is thrown back against the ropes. Shikamaru's body acts on its own. Time slows he leans low and gathers power in his legs as Neji body leans far in to the ropes, Shikamaru times it, all of Neji's weight is in the ropes, the ropes stretch back and then launch Neji forward again, as Neji's body moves forward, Shikamaru pushes that power in his legs up in to his arms and raises with it. The ropes toss Neji in to the path of Shikamaru's fist and a brutal uppercut lands on Neji's chin. The crowd goes silent, Neji's knees bend towards each other and he falls forward. The crowd goes wild. The ref waves his arms over Neji's limp body signaling the end of the fight.

Shikamaru raises his fist and winces, He can tell from the damp feeling in his gloves that he had cut his knuckles open while slamming his fists in to Neji's arms, he is gasping for air, his rage is subsiding and he feels lightheaded.

"Your winner, by way of knockout Shikamaru Nara!" The applause falls like rain, Shikamaru smiles, but his smiles is soon wiped off his face as he notices a very angry looking Orochimaru staring at him from ringside. Although he won, Shikamaru has a feeling his victory has come at a dangerous cost.


	14. Chapter 14

**So here's a new chapter, I should be posting more frequently. I just got out of classes for winter break so I'll have some time on my hands. I'll be able to write more. Lately Boxing has had me on weight restrictions, because I want to make Featherweight, I have five more pounds to drop, So it has had me really exhausted, and once I get back from sparring or the gym I collapse in to bed, but I'm almost done so with the energy I get back, and all the time I have, I'll be able to crank out more chapters. Keep the reviews coming; they really help me get inspired to keep going with this story. Enjoy. **

**Also, I don't know how many of you are caught up in the manga chapters, but a lot of stuff has been going down, and certain characters aren't around anymore. So yeah, my feels for that are all over the place. **

**I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter 14: Consequences**

A week after his fight, Shikamaru found himself in the gym, with a bruised face and a sore body, but he was there to test the waters between him and his father. Shikaku hadn't spoken to Shikamaru since the fight, even though Shikamaru knew he was aware that he had won, Shikaku still refused to acknowledge his son. Yoshino had taken notice of the tenseness in her home, in turn she stopped yelling at the both of them as much as she usually would have, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of the two men.

Shikamaru felt out of place, his father was in the ring sparring with Konohamaru, Shikamaru crossed his line of vision, his father didn't even bother to look up at him. Shikamaru had been expecting as much. He knew it would be a long time before his father forgave him for accepting the deal to throw the fight, and as upsetting as it was, Shikamaru understood why he was doing so.

Shikamaru dropped his bag and grabbed a jump rope; he hated jump roping, but found ways to cope with it. Once he got his rhythm in he would fade into the sound, the rope whipping past him, just to make a short click as it made contact with the floor, He finished one round of basic jumping, then followed with a side to side jump, then an alternating one foot jump, he sped it up to the point where it appeared he was running, the rope moving as quick as possible through the air. After a few more rounds of mixed with criss-crossing and double jumps he stopped to relax. He was breathing hard, a deep sweat already formed on his body.

He checked back in the ring to see that his father as gone. He felt a bit disappointed, he had hoped that he could try and work his way to patching things up with his father. It felt wrong to have him so angry; Shikamaru's father rarely even raised his voice, seeing his temper flare at the fight came as a surprise. Shikamaru had never been punished by his father as a child, his mother did all of the discipline lessons in the household, but having his father ignore him hurt more than any of his mothers slaps.

Before he knew it the sun had fallen, one by one members of the gym began to make their exits, but Shikamaru remained, he wanted to train away the weight of regret he felt in his stomach after the way his father had reacted to learning of Shikamaru's plan to lose the fight.

The night air had made the gym grow cold in its silence, the only sound was Shikamaru's gloves smacking against the heavy bags and his rhythmic breathing. A knock on the gyms doors broke Shikamaru from his trance. He pulled the gloves off his hands as he took steps towards the entrance of the gym, a faint nervousness grew. The only one who came to the gym this late was his father, Shikamaru was unsure of how he would handle this, but he knew he had to fix what he had broken, and mend the bond between himself and his father.

He took a deep breath and opened the door, he had no time to react as the metallic object smashed in to the side of his skull and the deep breath he had just taken was robbed from his lungs, as he feel to his knees and collapsed to the floor, the last thing he sees before his sight fades away is a pair of women's shoes.

A splash of water snapped Shikamaru awake, he sputtered in surprise. He began to panic at his current situation, he jerked his body, but it stayed still. He was seated, his entire torso wrapped in duct tape, trapping him to the chair he was seated in. He realized he was at the desk in the gym office. His hands before him on the desktop, both heavily taped down, he attempted to move them, but they wouldn't budge. He looked up to see a familiar face standing in front of him with an empty bucket in their hands.

"Tayuya….."

Shikamaru's voice felt dry, his head began to ache. He could feel blood beginning to dry on the side of his head. Questions began to run through his head. "What are you doing to me?!" Tayuya pulls back her hand and smacks Shikamaru across the face. "Shut the hell up!" Shikamaru felt his lips split, the taste of blood filling his mouth. "This isn't the time for talking Nara!" Shikamaru looked back up to her and began to ask again, another strike shut him up.

"You know why you're here. You made a deal with the boss, right?" Shikamaru nodded slowly. "Well this is what happens when you don't hold up your end of the deal." Tayuya reaches in to a duffel bag beside her and pulls out an object. Shikamaru's eyes widen in horror as he realizes what it is. A steel hammer, blood was caked on the head of it. He now knows what struck him when he opened the door. Tayuya smiles at his reaction. "Nothing personal Nara, I actually kind of like you, you're quiet and you do as you're told, plus you're a great fight, you just had to decide to be disobedient at the wrong time. This is just business, I'm just doing my job. You understand right?"

Shikamaru's fear erupted as she raised the tool up high. He spit out a plea of mercy. "No! No! No! You don't have to do this!" Tayuya brings down the hammer at an alarming speed it smacks right on its mark. A sickening sound fills the room as Shikamaru's pinky cracks; it is drained out by Shikamaru's screams. His vision grows white as the pain thumps through his body. Tayuya wiped the head of the hammer clean with a cloth. "One down, nine more to go…" Her voice sounded far away. Shikamaru looked up in despair as she raised the hammer again, but from the corner of his eyes he could see movement from behind her.

Tayuya turned around as she sensed someone's presence behind her, just to have a fist crash in to her jaw. A snap was heard and her chin sagged lower than it had before as she fell to the ground. Shikamaru looked up in shock to see Temari standing above the downed woman while cradling her knuckles.

"Help me…." Was all Shikamaru could get out before his head collapsed to the desk.


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, let me start of by saying my bad, I totally put off this story for a few months, but I swear I have a good reason, well I have a reason, and I don't know if it's any good. So in my actual life, like the one that isn't on the internet, I'm a touring performance poet, which sounds weird, but basically people pay me to travel around and perform poetry for rich people and stuff like that. So from December till mid January I was on tour, and then I finally came home, but somehow I ended up getting a job, teaching poetry workshops to pregnant teenage girls for a month. So that took up some time, and add this to the fact that I've started my amateur boxing career, and I have a fight in one month, I've been kind of under a lot of pressure, but I'm happy to say that I'm at the healthiest I've ever been and boxing the best I ever have at the moment, and I've learnt so much more about boxing in the last few months, which I hope to integrate in to this story, for example this little story arc, is based off personal experience, with me having my hand broken a few years back. So I try to write it as how it felt for me, and my experience of having to box with a recovered broken hand and pinky. Anyways, if you've stuck around to read this story, I appreciate it so much. It means a lot to me so enjoy it and shoot me some reviews if you have the time. I pinky swear with my broken pinky that I'll update soon.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter 15: Answers**

Hospitals had always made Shikamaru uncomfortable; something about the sterilized smell of the medical profession sent a chill down his spine. He had finally gotten his clothes returned to him and was happy to be rid of the itchy gown the doctors had made him wear while they were running their tests. When he caught a glimpse of his reflection his stomach tied itself in a knot, the side of his head was a disgusting patch of dried blood, the skin around it was a deep purple. He counted each stitch when they were finished; six of them closed the gaping gash that scarred his face.

He tried not to look at his left hand. He knew it was broken and the pinky finger was shattered, they had told him so, the white plaster cast was a death sentence for his boxing career, he knew that he would never be able to punch the same with that hand. The thought of this made Shikamaru become anxious, he felt a fear he hadn't felt in a long time. With his hand in this shape, he would not be able to make the promise he made to Asuma true. He pushed these thoughts to the back of his head. He knew there would be plenty nights to dwell on them in the future.

The painkillers they had administered earlier were beginning to wear off, he was not sure how long he had been here, when he had woken he was already on a table in the hospital gown while a man in blue scrubs stitched his head back together. His memory was cloudy, slowly it began to come back to him, he remembered it all, how he had disobeyed Orochimaru and paid the price, he recalled Tayuya knocking him out with a hammer and then smashing his finger with it, and most of all, he remembered being rescued, he remembered Temari.

As if she knew he was thinking of him, when he opens the door leading in to the hospital hallway, she is seated, her muscular tanned legs crossed in front of her. Her eyes are tired, her shoulders look heavy. She looks up at the sound of Shikamaru entering the hallway, she opens her mouth to speak, but her eyes glance towards the end of the hall.

Shikamaru follows her gaze, at the very edge of the hallway; his father stands with crossed arms. Shikamaru takes a deep breath and begins the walk towards his father; each step feels like an eternity, time has seemed to slow down. Shikamaru is expecting the worst as he finally reaches his father. Shikamaru cannot bring himself to make eye contact with his father, he can sense the anger radiating off of Shikaku. It had been a long time since he had seen his father furious, the sight instantly made Shikamaru feel very young again.

After a few moments, Shikaku takes a deep breath and speaks. "I am very disappointed in you, you chose a shortcut. You disrespected yourself, and the promises you made to Asuma the moment you agreed to a deal with those devils. I expected more of you."

As soon as he heard the words Shikamaru felt as if he had swallowed razor blades, for the first time in years water began to form in his eyes, he allows himself to cry. Shikaku turns and begins to walk away, but stops in his tracks. "Shikamaru let me ask you something…" Shikamaru wipes his eyes before glancing up at his father, "What is it we do when we get knocked down?" Shikamaru straightens up at his father's question, but is unable to answer as Shikaku has already left. A small smirk grows on Shikamaru's face.

A few moments later footsteps alert him out of his peaceful trance. He turns to find Temari standing by his side. She stares at the cast that is wrapped around his left hand. Her features have become soft, almost scared. He realizes it's a look of concern. "Tonight has been a drag…." Temari's eyes snap up to him, her soft gaze is suddenly gone, and a familiar one of annoyance is present. "You get your skull cracked open, strapped to a chair, and then have the bones in your hand turned to dust, and all you can say is that tonight was a drag!" Shikamaru smirks at her outburst, "Well… It wasn't a good night, so what else would it be." Temari crosses his arms at his answer. Shikamaru shrugs it off and motions for her to follow.

In front of the hospital Shikamaru takes a seat on a bench, Temari stands with her hands on her hips. "So... Are you going to explain what that entire whole thing was about?" Shikamaru shakes a cigarette out of a pack and looks up towards her. "What thing?" Temari throws her hands up in to the air in frustration. "You know the thing where I came in to the gym to find that bitch playing carpenter all over your hand." Shikamaru places the cigarette in his mouth and lights it. "Oh… that thing… It was nothing." Temari's anger rises, "Nothing, you call that nothing!" Shikamaru inhales deeply, "Yeah hat was nothing…" Temari seems to calm down, but she stares intently at Shikamaru, her eyes squinting slightly, as if she was analyzing him, before he knows it she has swiped the cigarette out of his mouth, tossed it on the ground, and grinded the ashes out with the toe of her shoe. She crosses her arms in triumph, Shikamaru smiles and allows her the small victory.

Temari takes a seat next to him, the night air is crisp, their breath can be seen each time they breath out. Shikamaru finds himself staring at his hand, wondering what it will take to be able to box again, how much will he have to struggle just to be able to strap the gloves on, and if he will ever be able to reach the level he was at before his hand was broken ever again in his life.

"So what will you do now?" Temari asks gesturing towards his hands. Shikamaru feels warmth in his chest, and suddenly the cold crisp night air isn't as unwelcoming as it had first been. "Temari… Let me ask you something." She nods allowing him to go on, "Do you know what boxers do when they get knocked down?" Temari takes a moment to think about it, she never gets to answer. Shikamaru stands and holds his broken hand up towards the sky and the cold crisp air bites at his skin. He answers the question for her, for his father, for Asuma, and most of all for himself.

"We get back up."


	16. Chapter 16

**So here's a new chapter, I had some free time today, so I got this written. I hope you enjoy, I know the chapters are a little slow right now, but I'm building up to some really good action soon. So be patient please. Welp, Read it and enjoy, and shoot me some reviews, knowing you guys read this story keeps me inspired to write it. Whoop~**

**I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter 16: Recovery.**

For all the talk Shikamaru had done about getting back up on that night at the hospital a month before, he had not been holding true to his word, he actually was doing quite the opposite. He found himself enjoying the bed rest he had been allowed after his trip to the hospital a bit more than he expected, and his week of rest had suddenly became four weeks of rest.

The days had begun to melt together a heat wave had hit his hometown and Shikamaru was finding it difficult to draw up the energy to move on most days, this one was no exception. A loud banging interrupted Shikamaru from a deep slumber, his eyes shot open. He stumbled his way out of bed, his legs feeling gelatinous from the hours they had been immobile. He finally uses a burst of energy to grab the door handle and swing the door open to silence the banging.

"Chouji? What are you doing here?" Shikamaru was surprised to see his large friend standing in his doorway. "Your mom called me; she said you haven't gotten out of bed." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, he knew sooner or lady he would have to get out of his slump, "Come on, we need to weigh you." Chouji turned and walked towards the restroom.

"Why do we need to weight me, I know how much I weigh?" Shikamaru inquired as he stepped on to the scale. "Oh yeah? How much do you weight then?" Chouji retorted. Shikamaru did some rough math. His resting weight was One hundred thirty pounds, and he would sweat out the five pounds needed to make his weight class the day before his fight. Confident with his answer Shikamaru replied. "I weigh one thirty Chouji, why are we wasting time here?" Chouji let out a short laugh and pointed down. The scale read in clear numbers, One hundred forty two pounds. Shikamaru let out a short breath of surprise before regaining his composure. "Ohh… that's new."

At the kitchen table Chouji gobbled down Yoshino's cooking and spoke between bites "You're –going- on- a- diet- Shikamaru." Shikamaru laughed at his friend's actions, "You're one to talk Chouji!" His large friend swallowed his bite of food and spoke sternly, "I'm serious Shikamaru, you need to get back in shape and you have to make weigh in, you start fighting again in four months." Shikamaru was shocked at his friend's declaration, it had been the first time he had heard of such news. "What do you mean?" Chouji continued eating before speaking again. "What? Did you think a broken hand excuses you from the promise you made to Asuma? You can't become the Featherweight champion if you don't even weigh in at the Featherweight class." The words hit a sore spot in Shikamaru's chest. He knew he had been putting off boxing the past month, but every time he would think of the sport, his hand would ache, and he would be brought down. Chouji speaks up breaking Shikamaru's train of thought. "Alright then, it's decided, put your sweat suit on."

As the sun set that day, Shikamaru was reminded of one of the many reasons boxing was not suited for him, one of the most disgusting feelings his body had ever had to go through was once again present. The shiver of discomfort that shook his spine as he finally removed the full body sweat suit he had been running in all day. Shikamaru shuddered as sweat poured from his skin. No matter how many times he went through the experience, he never got used to it.

Over the next month Shikamaru stuck to a strict diet and exercise schedule. He was up before sunrise, and he would run until his legs wouldn't carry him anymore. Slowly but surely the pounds he had gained began to disappear.

Eventually the cast was removed from his hand, and he felt the now foreign sensation of being able to move the fingers in his left hand, it was stiff and uncomfortable, a hollow pain rested in it, and threatened to flare up at the slightest sign of stress. Each night Shikamaru would repeat the same ritual of pressing his open palm into a large bin of uncooked grains of rice, pushing as far as his hand would go in, and then slowly pulling it out, and repeating. It was a slow and painful process, but strength was returning to his hands, and soon he was squeezing a small rubber ball over and over to regain the ability to make a fist. It still hurts, but for the first time since the incident, Shikamaru sees signs of hope.

Shikamaru is a bit hesitant to enter the Sarutobi Boxing Gym, the last time he was there things did not go his way. After some preparation, Shikamaru takes a deep breath and pushes the doors to the gym open. It is early, his father and Chouji have yet to arrive. Shikamaru was counting on the fact that the gym would be empty, he needed some space to take it all in, to dwell on what led to him being in this situation, and all the little things that added up to what he knew as the present, but Shikamaru was not alone as he wanted.

"So you're finally back?" a familiar blonde steps out of the gym office and walks towards him, Shikamaru nods at her. "It's good to see you, Chouji told me you got fat and so that's why you haven't been around much lately, you lost it all though?" she lets out a small laugh, "Were you trying to impress me or something?" Shikamaru clicks his teeth at her teasing. "Why would I go through the trouble to impress someone as unimpressive as you?" Temari crosses her arms, "After I go and save your ass you still are going to act like a prick?" Shikamaru can't help but smile, her words remind him of something he had been meaning to tell her.

"Temari… about that night, well…It's a drag, but I guess... It's in order... for me to… thank you…." The words felt sluggish as Shikamaru spoke them, he was not used to thanking others so formally, and he worried he hadn't done it right. Temari stared intently, Shikamaru attempted to analyze her glare, but she began laughing, when she finally caught her breath she spoke. "Is that the best thank you that you could do? Wow! You really are as lazy as they say; you can't even put in the effort for a proper apology!" Shikamaru felt his cheeks grow warm, he quickly regained his cool before speaking "Whatever… I taught you how to throw that punch anyways, so I should be thanking myself…" Temari smiled "Well… you are welcome Shikamaru, no matter how much your thank you sucked."

As if right on queue to end their moment Shikaku and Chouji entered the gym. Shikamaru turned to face his father. "So… are you ready to start training again?" Shikaku asks. Shikamaru puts his head down and speaks. "I am, but… I don't know if I'll be able to fight with my hand like this." Shikaku sets down his bag, "It will take a lot of work, but I know of a way for you to fight again, close to, and maybe even beyond the level you were before you had your hand broken." Shikamaru looks up curiously at his father, "Really? How?" he asks. Shikaku smiles at his son.

"You are going to learn how to box Southpaw."

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**Authors Note: Some of you might not know what "Southpaw" is, and I don't want you to feel like you're missing out on something, so let me explain it as simple as I can. So there are two Stances (Ways you stand while boxing.) Called "Orthodox" and "Southpaw." Orthodox is kind of the regular way of boxing. It is mostly for people who are right handed. Orthodox fighters stand with their left foot forward, and use the left hand to jab, and the right hand to throw power punches. A Southpaw is the exact opposite of Orthodox; the two stances mirror each other. Southpaws stand with their right foot forward, jab with their right hands, and throw power punches with their left hands; this is usually used by people who are left handed. Although it is possible for a boxer to learn both stances, because it can be used strategically in fights. Think of it this way, if you were riding a skateboard, or surfboard. Orthodox would be if you stood facing right, and Southpaw would be if you were facing left. I hope my explanation makes sense, if it doesn't feel free to look it up and learn more about it and how it works in boxing.**


	17. Chapter 17

**So its been a while since I updated, to be honest I just kinda hit a wall, I wanted to start the story using that Southpaw angle, but seeing as how this story is mostly build around real life experience, and seeing as how I don't box Southpaw, I didn't really have anywhere to go with it, and then last month, I dislocated my left thumb, and just like that, I found myself in the same situation I had set up in the story, injured left hand. So I started to learn how to box Southpaw, and it's pretty difficult, it's like relearning basic boxing all over again, everything feels backwards and foreign, anyways, my hand is healed up and I can use it comfortably, but at least now I have some experience in both stances. I've been sick all week, so I haven't been training, that gave me some time to write, So you can expect a burst of hopefully three more chapters by the end of this week, In other news I got a job as a youth boxing instructor at a gym, So I get paid to teach boxing to kids now, which is pretty fun. So I'm hoping that might help fuel the fire to get this story going again. This is just another build up chapter, no real action, but I hope you enjoy, and as always, reviews are welcomed with open arms, they keep me inspired to write. Enjoy.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter 17: Nice Guys

"You want me to box southpaw?" Shikamaru asks his father with a raised eyebrow.

Shikaku nods at his sons question. Shikamaru's mind begins to race, he wonders how he will be able to pull off learning a new stance with his injured hand, he looks to his father for answers, and realizes a major flaw in the plan. Shikaku boxed in the same stance as Shikamaru.

"Dad… How are you going to teach me that… you don't even box Southpaw yourself?"

Shikaku smiles "I'm bringing in some extra help for that part, a consulting coach."

Shikamaru's attention perks at the prospect of having a special coach brought in to help him learn the Southpaw style. "Alright then, Who'd you get?"

Behind him he could hear Chouji attempting to stifle a laugh, Shikamaru began to put together the pieces, trying to think of a list of a retired boxers who had fought Southpaw that would be willing to help out, as he narrowed down the list one name stuck out, Shikamaru's eyes opened in shock when he figured it out.

"No… Anyone but him dad, please."

Shikamaru could see the satisfaction in his father's eyes at how much he was enjoying the suffering Shikamaru was going through, "I'm sorry son, there's no one better suited than him." Shikaku said with a smile and a joking tone.

"There's a world full of better suited people that him!" Shikamaru shouted back.

Off to the side Chouji had abandoned his attempts to hold back his laughter and was close to tears from laughing so hard. Chouji knew Shikamaru's reaction to the identity of the coach would be hilarious, and Chouji was enjoying watching Shikamaru's futile attempt to convince Shikaku to change his mind, for such a lazy guy Shikamaru was willing to put in a lot of effort to try to alter this situation, but came to no avail and resolved to run his hands through his hair in frustration. The entire time this was going on Temari stood in utter confusion,

"Am I missing something? What's so bad about this coach?" she asked the three men who stood before her.

"Nothing is wrong with the coach." Shikaku said confidently.

Shikamaru threw his hands up in to the air, "Everything is wrong with that coach! He is ridiculous, how can you even expect me to get a single thing done with him around, he'll just waste our time with that bullshit philosophy of his!"

Temari hadn't gotten her answer, "So who is this guy?"

Shikaku turned to her. " He is a bit of a boxing legend, and one of the best trainers out there, but he can be a bit much at times."

"Understatement of the century," Shikamaru chimed in, "He's a moron."

"Yeah, but he's the moron who is going to teach you Southpaw." Shikaku retorted.

Temari was beginning to get frustrated that they still hadn't cleared up who this mystery trainer was, but as if on cue to her thoughts the door to the gym crashed open.

"THE MIGHTY GUY HAS ARRIVED!"

A man in a dark green sweat suit with a horrendous haircut stood in the doorway of the gym. Shikamaru let out a defeated groan, and Chouji's hearty laughter filled the gym.

Temari looked on as Might Guy bounced around the gym, chatting up Shikaku, the two older men reminiscing about times past, she couldn't help but notice the look of utter irritation that had fell upon the face of Shikamaru, as he watched his new coach talk with his father.

"Is he really that bad?" she asks him,

"It's not that he is a bad coach, it's actually pretty much the complete opposite, he is one of the best trainers out there… it's just his personality that stands in the way, he can get very annoying very quickly, and he is always completely oblivious to it… Shit! He's heading over here now."

Temari watched as the green suited man sauntered over towards them, his voice boomed towards them, "Shikamaru! I have not seen you since you were a mere child! Look how you've grown, so youthful! So much energy, it is great to see you again!"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth and replied, "Yeah… great to see you too… How've you been?"

Might Guy let out a raucous laugh for no apparent reason, "I have been well, but I was a bit saddened that you bested my star prospect Rock Lee, I trained him extra hard for his fight against you, and you still defeated him, no matter I made him run thirty miles as a punishment."

Shikamaru hadn't even known that Rock Lee was Guy's protégé, he had not seen The Mighty Guy in years, but in retrospect he should have been able to tell Rock Lee had been influenced by Might Guy from the stupid haircut they both chose to bear at all times, but in the heat of the fight he had failed to put the two pieces together.

Might Guy's eyes shifted towards Temari, his gaze zeroed in on her, a silence fell upon the room, Temari was feeling uncomfortable as the man continued to stare, she was startled when his voice boomed breaking the silence.

"And who is this fine lady Shikamaru?!" he shouted.

Shikamaru grimaced at remembering how Might Guy could never grasp the concept of an inside voice,

"This is Temari, and Temari this is Might "The Mighty" Guy." Shikamaru quickly introduce the two.

Temari politely shook the man's hand, Guy pulled her close and whispered,

"I'm glad Shikamaru found himself a girl, it is important for young men and young women to share their youthful energy, and enjoy the springtime of their youth together."

Guy's whisper was more like a muffled yell, his voice filled the entire gym and everyone turned to look at a blushing Temari who tried to explain to Guy that he had gotten the wrong idea, but Guy was already distracted by other matters.

Shikamaru groaned and turned towards Temari, "Just ignore him, alright?"

"So time to train then!" Guy shouted before striking the pose he had become famous for in his boxing days, doing it every time he got a knockdown, a thumbs up, a smile, and a strange sparkle in his teeth.


End file.
